Everything Changes
by ShutUpAndPaddle
Summary: Everything changes for the CSI team. A new team member is introduced, she get's into a slight pickle and ends up in hospital. Calleigh's story will be revisited in a later story.
1. Chapter 1

**Everything Changes**

**Chapter 1**

The beginning of a new week arrived and the team had just solved another case. While the rest of the team relaxed for a while and cleared up for the night shift, Calleigh had seemed distant and wasn't quite herself. Eric pulled her to the side.

"Calleigh, is everything okay with you? You seem a little distant today." Eric asked with a sympathetic look. Calleigh looked into his caring brown eyes and sighed softly.

"I'm okay, thank you Eric. Just a little headache, that's all." Eric placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and frowned slightly, but he accepted that she was okay.

"Okay, if you need anything, give me a call." Eric said warmly as he moved his hand from her shoulder to her upper arm, feeling the fabric of her cardigan.

Calleigh smiled softly. "Thank you, Eric." He smiled back at her as he turned to walk to his locker and picked up his things with a silent sigh. '_Why did we ever break up?' _Eric thought to himself as he swallowed and looked into his locker. He glanced around when he heard the door open and close and realised Calleigh had just left. '_She didn't even say bye._' Eric thought to himself as he lightly frowned. '_Calleigh always say's bye.'_ He thought to himself.

Ryan then strolled in to the locker room to pick a few of his things up with an easy smile.

"Hey, is there something wrong with Calleigh? She doesn't seem herself." Ryan asked concerned about his colleague and friend as he pulled a can of deodorant from his locker and applied a little.

"I just spoke with her, she said she just had a headache." Eric turned to look at Ryan as he put a few things back in his locker.

"Fair enough, she was in early today; I guess she's just a little tired. You want to come out for a beer tonight?' Ryan asked casually leaning against his locker after putting the deodorant away.

"Sure, let me get my things together. Have you asked Frank, I'm sure he'll join." Eric closed his locker and turned to Ryan. They headed toward the door just as Frank walked in.

"Hey, you guys wanna' come out for a beer?" Frank asked as he stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame.

"We were about to ask you the same thing." Eric replied as they headed out of the locker room and stood by the door just as Calleigh stormed past them in a hurry, she didn't seem too happy. She didn't even acknowledge the three of them standing there. All 3 frowned at her as she boarded the lift and crossed her arms as she stood strong, clearly very upset and annoyed about something.

"Woah! Must be that time of the month." Ryan sniggered after the lift doors closed.

"Ryan!" Eric snapped as Frank chuckled in agreement.

"Well, there's definitely something getting her worked up! She's rarely that stroppy." Ryan said as he raised his hands in submission with an innocent looking expression. Eric just glared at him.

"Right, are we going for this beer or what?" Frank quickly said to change the subject.

"We sure are" Eric calmly said, still looking slightly concerned and a little annoyed with Ryan. They made their way over to the lift. Horatio walked by with his head buried in a case file.

"Horatio!" Frank called and then watched Horatio lift his head from the file as he slowed. "You wanna' join us for a drink?" Frank questioned as he turned to face Horatio.

"Thank you but I have some paperwork to complete." Horatio replied. They gave him a nod and then watched him look back down to the file as he carried on walking as the three men boarded the lift. They jumped into their cars and headed home and agreed to meet at 8 at a local bar.

Meanwhile, Calleigh was on her way home when her phone rang. She left it as she was driving and if it was important, they would leave a message. It rang again and she sighed, she picked it up and looked at the caller ID, it was her boyfriend, Jay. She answered.

"Jay–"

"Where the hell are you!?" Jay's loud, angry voice cut Calleigh off.

"I'm on my way home now! I told you 10 minutes ago!" Calleigh said frustrated as she frowned at the road ahead.

"You should be here by now! What have you been doing?"

"I'll be there in 2 minutes, I'll see you then!" She hung up on him, equally as frustrated as he was. She arrived at her place and got out of her car and walked up to her door with her key in her hand. The door opened and a tall well-built man stood there, with a gloomy expression.

"What on Earth have you been doing!?" He raised his voice. Calleigh pushed past him.

"I've been at work! Where else would I have been?" Calleigh questioned as she dropped her bag to the table in the kitchen.

"You finished work ages ago! You're late!" He responded raising his voice louder as his expression grew fiercer. '_Why the hell am I with this jackass anyway?!'_ Calleigh thought to herself as she pressed her lips into a hard line.

"I'm never home when I technically finish work! You know that! I always have something to finish up or something! And don't you raise your voice at me, Jay!" She said getting more frustrated as she placed her hands on the cold table.

"I will raise my voice to you whenever I like Calleigh! You've not been at work have you! Don't lie to me!" He yelled as he stood the opposite side of the table.

"I've been at work, Jay! I've been at work all day and I certainly don't need this from you right now!" She raised her voice slightly as she glared at him.

"Yeah right, Calleigh! I know you've been to see your 'boyfriend'! Who is he?" His face beginning to flush bright red as he hit the table and then walked around the table.

"I've been at work! I'm not seeing anyone!" Calleigh snapped, now going slightly red in the face herself as she stood up straight and stood strong.

"Who is he?!" Jay screamed, backing Calleigh into the corner as he tensed his muscles.

"Jay, back off now!" Calleigh raised her voice, warning him dangerously lowly.

"WHO IS HE?" Jay screamed again as Calleigh's ass made contact with the counter behind her.

"Jay! Back off now!" Calleigh shouted at him as she raised her arms and pushed him back but Jay grabbed one of her arms.

"Get off me now, Jay!" Calleigh grew angry as she tried to pushed him away.

"Not until you tell me who he is!" Jay yelled.

"I'm not seeing anyone! Now back off or I'll arrest you!" Calleigh warned as she pushed him forcefully.

"How dare you push me! Get off you bitch!" He yelled and then slapped Calleigh across the face. She looked down, dropping her head, holding her cheek as Jay backed off slowly.

"Get out, NOW!" She screamed at him. His eyes went wide, he had realised what he had done, he let go of her arm and slowly backed off more as he took a deep breath.

"GET OUT!" Calleigh screamed at him.

"Fine you crazy bitch!" He looked her in the eye.

"Don't you EVER come back here or I'll have you arrested." She said through gritted teeth trying to contain her anger. Jay slammed the front door shut after him. Calleigh took a deep breath to try and calm herself. It didn't work, the more she thought about it, the more she grew angry. She was frustrated because she hadn't thrown him out sooner. '_What the FUCK was I thinking? Why did I not throw him out sooner! He's a fucking arsehole, you've known that a long time!'_ She thought, growing even angrier with herself. It was the first time he had raised a hand to her and it sure as hell was going to be the last. She broke down and sat on her kitchen floor, she was unsure what to do with herself.

xxxxxxxx

At the bar, the three men had met and Eric brought a round of beers. They sat and discussed the last case casually but the subject quickly changed on to Calleigh.

"Hey, don't you think Calleigh has been acting a little strange lately, she seems a little distracted." Ryan casually began the conversation before he picked up the cool pint and took a few sips.

"Not really, then again, I don't often work many cases with her." Frank said looking to Eric for his opinion.

"I had asked her a few times if she was okay, she always said she was so I just left it at that. If she wanted to talk about something, I'm sure she would have said something." Eric said and sipped his beer.

"Yeah, perhaps she's just tired; she's not had a break from work in months." Ryan said as he brought the beer back up to his lips. A slim woman walked past them and their eyes all simultaneously met with her ass as her hips swayed.

"Yeah…" Frank said staring. They all then realised they were staring so stopped.

"Anyway, what are you guys up to Saturday?" The conversation carried on while they discussed various things. They got a few more rounds in.

xxxxxxxx

Back at Calleigh's, she took at hot shower to try and calm herself, but it didn't seem to work. She was so stressed from work, the cases were really grinding at her and then there was her pig of a ex-boyfriend. She then thought about her drunken father, it upset her even more. She broke down in the shower too, she had to get out and then changed into her lazy clothes. She walked into the kitchen and took a few shots of vodka. '_Well, if it works for him, then it should work for me'_ she thought, hoping it would calm her down slightly. She was wrong, it only exacerbated her emotions and she was at breaking point, she could feel herself being pushed over the edge.

'WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?!" She screamed out, and sunk to the floor with tears streaming down her cheeks, her head pounding and pressure building up in her sinuses. She brought her knees to her chest.

xxxxxxxx

The next morning Horatio arrived early at work and began filling out paper work. Eric, Ryan and Frank arrived, shortly after Alexx. There wasn't a sign of Calleigh yet.

"Hey Wolfe, you seen Calleigh yet?" Eric said loudly from across the lab. Ryan looked up and then strolled over to Eric with a file in his hand.

"No, not yet. She's probably just a little late." Ryan said as he picked up another case file.

"Yeah" Eric said with a slightly concerned and confused look on his face. '_Calleigh is never late, she never has been_.' He thought to himself with a sigh as he looked to what Ryan was looking at.

"You want a coffee? I'm just going to make one" Ryan asked as he pulled his head out of the file, then noticed the look on Eric's face.

"Hey, she's fine, you watch, she'll be through those doors in a few minutes complaining about traffic. It was horrendous this morning." Ryan said trying to comfort Eric. Ryan put the files down and then leant on the desk as he awaited Eric's reply.

"Yeah, you're right and a yes to the coffee." Eric seemed to relax a little more.

xxxxxxxx

Horatio sat in his office when he received a call he answered it.

"Caine"

"Hey H, it's Frank, we have a DB, we need you guys here soon please. It's at 285 Star Island."

"I'll send them over now, thanks Frank" The call ended and Horatio closed the file that lay open before him. Horatio got up and found Ryan.

"Mr Wolfe, I need you and Calleigh to go over to 285 Star Island, we have a DB."

"Calleigh hasn't turned up yet, H" Ryan replied and Horatio glanced up to him from looking at the corner of the desk.

"Well, give her a ring then." Horatio turned and walked away back to his office. He was still obsessing about the Judge Joseph Ratner case. '_I've missed something, I know I have'_ Horatio thought to himself. Ryan rang Calleigh on her cell phone but she didn't answer.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Hey Calleigh isn't answering her phone, Eric." Ryan started to get a little concerned.

"Have you tried her home phone, she's probably just left her cell upstairs if she's still at home. Or she could be driving." Eric answered.

"Good idea, I'll try now." Ryan tried her home phone again, there was no answer. Ryan looked at Eric, both of them growing concerned.

"What do we do?" Ryan asked Eric.

"We'll just go and notify H, and drive by hers." Eric answered. They walked over to Horatio's office and walked in when Horatio greeted them.

"Gentlemen, what can I do for you?" Horatio looked at them, noticing their concerned faces.

"We can't get hold of Calleigh, we've tried her cell and home." Ryan immediately answered.

"We were just letting you know that we're just going to take a detour over to her house on the way to the Star Island case." Eric said after Ryan had finished.

"Okay, let me know. Alexx should be at the crime scene now, or on her way, so I need you two to hurry up." Horatio answered.

"Okay H, we'll be quick. Thank you." Eric said. They both turned and walked away.

They got into a hummer and drove over to Calleigh's house. Eric knocked on the door and there was no response. He called out her name, yet again, there was no response. They knew she hadn't left for work as her car was still out the front. Ryan looked through the letter box and down the end of the hall he could see a blood stain on the wall.

"We need to get in there now Eric, there's blood of the wall!" Ryan said frantically.

"Stand back Ryan!" Eric raised his voice slightly as he withdrew his gun. Ryan did the same and stood back. Eric kicked at her front door, he kicked it 4 times before the door gave in. They ran in guns drawn cautiously. Ryan went through to the kitchen and then back through to the dining room while Eric went straight for the living room which had blood spatter on the walls. He cautiously approached the room and turned the corner fast. He saw somebody with blond hair matted with blood sat on the sofa. Behind her there was high velocity spatter on the wall.

"Calleigh?" Eric cautiously approached. He reached her and saw a gun in her limp hand and her mouth open with dried blood everywhere.

"CALLEIGH?" Eric panicked. Ryan came through to the living room, both putting their guns away. Eric stood in shock staring at Calleigh's lifeless body. Ryan carefully approached her and placed his fingers on her neck in hope of finding that she still had a pulse. He looked round to Eric and shook his head. Eric stood open mouthed shocked. Ryan pulled out his phone.

"We need back up to Calleigh Duquesne's house, immediately." The hung up and dialled another number.

"Horatio, we have a problem, it's Calliegh, she's… she's" Ryan sighed and put his other hand on his head he frantically began looking around, for any signs.

"Mr. Wolfe, sorry? What's going on? What's the problem?" Horatio calmly said.

"Horatio, you need to get here now, Calleigh's… dead." Ryan becoming more frantic. Eric still speechless.

"She's what? I'll be right over, you stay where you are!" Horatio hung up and jumped into his hummer and made his way over to her house. Back-up arrived and walked in.

"Eric, come on Eric, go outside." They walked out just as Horatio walked towards them.

"What happened?!" Horatio asked, in a calm manner, but concern written all over his face.

"Calleigh, she… I think she… may have killed herself." Ryan said shook up.

Horatio walked into the house and found Calleigh on the sofa, with the gun in her right hand resting on her lap. Blood and brain matter spattered over the wall and ceiling behind.

Horatio ran a hand through his hair and turned around. He found what appeared to be a note on the coffee table in front of the sofa. He put a glove on and picked it up. He began to read.

'_I am sorry, so sorry. I could not handle things anymore, I was pushed over the edge and could not get myself back. I took the easy option out, I'm a coward. Right now, it seems as though this is the only option. I apologise to my team, I hope to God none of you are the ones that found me. I don't want any of you to blame yourselves, you are all the reason why I took so long to finally come to this conclusion. You helped me to get through many things, but I couldn't handle things anymore. I'm sorry. Calleigh Duquesne._' Horatio looked up and around. He couldn't believe what he was reading. He had to read it again. He looked over to Calleigh.

"I'm so sorry, Calleigh" he whispered. He placed the note down again. He walked out of the house and met with Ryan and Eric.

"From what it looks like now, I think it's suicide. But I'm going to get another team in to investigate, okay? You are to leave this case alone." Both of them looked in shock.

Horatio pulled out his phone and called in another team. Once he hand done that, he looked over to Eric and Ryan.

"Are you two okay?" He asked with a caring expression.

"Yeah…" Ryan said with a long exhaled breath.

"Eric? Are you okay?" He looked into Eric's eyes and saw the hurt and pain.

"Yeah, I'm… I'm okay." Eric said with a whisper looking at Horatio.

"Are you sure Eric?" Horatio placed a hand on Eric's shoulder. Eric seemed to snap out of his daze.

"Yeah, I'm okay." He said and took a deep breath in. Another team arrived at the scene and started to process.

"I know this is tough, but we're going to get through this okay?"

"yeah, H" They both said in unison.

"Now, can you both make it to the Star Island crime scene, or would you like the day off? I can get another team to process." Horatio said with a concerned look on his face.

"No, no, we can do this, can't we Ryan. We'll be fine. We'll let you know what we find." Eric said calmly, then took another deep breath.

"Are you sure?" Horatio asked.

"We're sure, H" Ryan answered. Ryan and Eric walked over to their hummer and drove off.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

They arrived at the Star Island crime scene, a man had been stabbed. Alexx was looking over the body. A woman was stood watching her, the woman was the man's wife. She had blood all over her hands and shirt while she looked like she was in shock. They walked over slowly to Alexx. She heard them walk up and quickly glanced back to them then back to the body.

"Where have you two been? It's been ages." Alexx said jokingly.

"Alexx…" Eric said with his voiced filled with concern. She heard the concern in his voice and turned around to see them both in a state of shock, standing looking at her blankly.

Alexx frowned immediately as she stood. "What's wrong baby?" She said and placed a hand on her hip and turned to give them her full attention.

"Alexx… Calleigh… Calleigh…" Eric took a breath and looked down, he didn't want to be breaking the news to Alexx, he didn't even want to think about what had happened. Alexx's frown deepened considerably as she placed her other hand on her hip and lowered her head. She studied both Ryan and Eric intensely, it was clear that both were distraught and in shock themselves.

"It's okay baby, just tell me what happened." She said warmly as she looked at them both.

"Calleigh is dead" Eric said with sincerity as he looked directly into Alexx's deep brown eyes. Alexx's frown turned more confused as she tilted her head, thinking she'd mis-heard Eric. She took a deep breath, just hoping she'd mis-heard him.

"Calleigh's what?" Alexx asked quietly.

"We think that she may have killed herself, that's what the evidence is telling us at the moment anyway." Ryan quickly said and then watched Alexx's eyes water slightly. '_This can't be true!'_ Alexx thought to herself as her eyes darted from Ryan's distraught face to Eric's. She raised a hand to her mouth and blinked rapidly, it was evident that Alexx was shocked and very distressed. "Horatio has put another team on to the case, they're working as we speak." Ryan followed on quietly as his gentle eyes searched Alexx's.

"Oh my God" Alex gasped and then let out a deep breath as she shook her head and looked down at the floor.

"I know it's hard, but we have to get on and process this scene and try to carry on." Ryan said with a slightly shaky voice. Alexx was speechless as she looked from the floor to the pair of them repeatedly. She was trying to compose herself the best she could, but receiving such news was a punch to the face.

"Alexx, are you okay?" Eric said, the concern in his eyes growing more as Alexx placed her hand back on her waist.

"Yeah, I'm okay baby, it's just a shock. Give me a minute." Alexx said then she turned and looked out over the garden to try and collect her emotions and compose herself enough to carry on with the days tasks ahead of her.

"Eric, you want to take the woman, I'll process this over there" Ryan said warmly as he knew that Eric was very affected by the horrible situation.

"Yeah, sure, okay. I'll do that." Eric said as he nodded.

"You sure you're okay man?" Ryan asked quietly.

"Yeah, I'm okay, now let's get on and do our jobs." Eric said trying to concentrate on the crime scene in hand. They processed and got back to the lab. Horatio arrived back at the lab and walked into his office. He sat down and called Eric while he leant back.

"Eric, can you meet me in my office please" Horatio asked calmly as soon as Eric picked up.

"Sure, I'll be right there, H." Eric answered and hung up. He walked over to Horatio's office and gently knocked on the door. He had no idea what Horatio wanted to talk to him about, but knew it was going to be something relevant to Calleigh.

"Come in Eric" Horatio said and looked up from the open file on his desk. He closed the file as Eric slowly walked in after closing the office door again.

"You wanted to see me, H?" Eric asked quietly as he approached the seat that Horatio was just about to gesture too.

"Yes, I do Eric, have a seat" Eric sat and looked at Horatio once he'd made himself comfortable and sat forwards to give Horatio his entire attention.

"Are you okay Eric? You can have some time off if you feel you need it." Horatio gently asked as he studied Eric's shocked and tired face.

"H, I'm fine, really, it was a massive shock to me, and to everyone, but I'm okay. I don't need any time off, thank you." Eric quickly answered him confidently.

"Okay, take this card, it's for a councillor, if you need to talk, they'll be willing to talk with you, as will I. The councillor will keep you anonymous if you wish, just take the card in case okay? I'm always here for you brother." Eric nodded and took the card from Horatio's outstretched hand and looked down at it for a few moments. "How's the case coming along?" Horatio asked to try and change the subject.

"It's going well, we think the wife did it, the evidence is all pointing to her at this moment, but we're still investigating." Eric said professionally and Horatio nodded, a little happier once he saw the usual Eric return when the case was mentioned.

"Okay, I'll let you get back to work, Eric" Horatio said and then looked back down to the file that was below on the desk as Eric got up.

"Thanks, H." They gave each other a nod as a sign of appreciation. Horatio then called Ryan into his office. The conversation went the same way, however, Ryan was a little more talkative. Ryan had asked Horatio if they had found anything to do with Calleigh.

"It seems as though she had a bit of alcohol, we're still waiting on tox to confirm it though, her writing suggests that she had had something to drink." Horatio said honestly.

"Writing?" Ryan questioned not knowing about the note.

"We found a note at the scene, it appears to be a suicide note, we found that it had some liquid on parts of the paper, some of it came back to be lysozyme, which indicated that she was crying while writing the note. We also found her prints on the paper with alcohol. She perhaps spilled some alcohol and it came off when she touched the paper." Horatio said with a sigh as he looked back to his desk. "We are still awaiting on some results though." He sighed again, it was clear that Horatio was slightly distressed by the whole situation too.

"I feel so sorry for her, she had seemed a little distant, but I was never really close enough to have a conversation with her about it." Ryan said with concern still radiating through his expression as he looked at Horatio intensely.

"I know, try to not think about it though, you need your full attention on your current case, which I hear is going well." Horatio again, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, anyway, I think I should get back to work now, thank you H." Horatio nodded at Ryan. Ryan got up and quickly left. Horatio got up and walked down to the autopsy room where Alexx was examining the dead husband.

"Got anything for me, Alexx?" he said as he walked through the doors and placed his left hand on his hips while he held his sunglasses in his right.

"Hey baby, I've got stab wounds, which don't seem to penetrate too deep and I also found a tip of a blade." Alexx said as she held up the tip in an evidence packet. She handed it to Horatio, he took it and held it up to get a good look at the tip.

"Looks like it could be a match to our murder weapon." He said looking down at the deceased man.

"If you ask me, I think the wife did this, the wounds are telling me that a woman was the killer and she had blood all over her this morning honey." Alexx said calmly, stitching up the body with grace.

"It certainly looks that way, Alexx, thank you" Horatio said before he turned to walk away.

"Horatio honey, is there any news on Calleigh?" Horatio turned back to Alexx and studied her a little. He stepped forwards as he took a deep breath and looked down to the floor.

"Well, Alexx, it appears to be suicide at this moment in time, we'll know more soon." Horatio said formally.

"Okay honey, keep me updated please?" Alexx made eye contact with Horatio when he looked back up at her..

"Will do Alexx, will do." Horatio quickly turned and walked back out.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The team had solved the case and found that indeed the wife was the killer, Calleigh's case was still on-going. The team had collected all the evidence from Calleigh's house. But it still haunted them to think that their much loved colleague had passed away. No-one could understand why Calleigh would do such a thing; it was not in her personality to take the easy way out. The team had found that Calleigh had a boyfriend. Horatio received a call asking whether he or the team knew if Calleigh had a boyfriend. Horatio asked around and no-one knew. Horatio's team now getting wound up, thinking that it was the boyfriend, because Calleigh surely couldn't have done something like that to herself.

"She wouldn't have done that! It has to be the boyfriend! Are they bringing him in?" Eric questioned frustrated as he ran both fists over his head.

"They're trying to find out who he is first. They've got DNA, but there hasn't been a match but there hasn't been a match in any known records. Don't worry, they'll find him." Horatio said looking at the floor trying to piece things together in his brilliant mind.

"If I get my hands on him I'll–" Eric began but Horatio cut him off.

"Eric, calm down, we don't know if he's got anything to do with this yet." Horatio said with a hand on Eric's shoulder while his other rested on his waist. Eric took a deep breath and then nodded as he calmed himself down.

A few hours passed and Horatio received another call.

"We've got the boyfriend, he says he has nothing to do with it." One of the other CSI's who was taking care of the case announced to Horatio.

"Well, we'll let the evidence be the judge of that." Horatio answered with venom in his tone. "I'll let you know if we find anything else out." Horatio said before they hung up. Horatio then received another call – it was from the M.E who had found that Calleigh had an unseen bruise on her cheek. They sent the pictures to Horatio who stormed out of his office and down into the interrogation room where Jay, Calleigh's former boyfriend was being held. He excused the current interrogator, once they left Horatio threw the picture of the bruise on Calleigh's cheek on the desk in front of Jay.

"Explain!" Horatio said with anger building up as he placed two tense hands on his waist.

"I…I had nothing to do with that! I didn't kill her!" Jay answered as he looked up at Horatio with raised eyebrows.

"Well then, how on Earth did she get this bruise then? She didn't do it herself! She was hit while she was alive! You better start talking!" Horatio said whilst leaning over the table to get closer to his face, trying to intimidate the boyfriend.

"Woah man, calm down!" Jay said leaning back and folded his arms as he shook his head.

"You know, for someone who's just lost their partner, you don't seem pretty cut up. Why's that?" Horatio said as he leaned in closer before Jay pushed his chair back slightly to move away from Horatio's intense glare.

"I didn't kill her!" Jay said.

"So you keep saying! I'm finding that very hard to believe right now!" Horatio argued.

"So what am I supposed to do then?!" Jay snapped.

"Tell the truth! When was the last time you saw her?" Horatio said through gritted teeth.

"I saw her last night." Jay said lowering his eyebrows.

"Funny that, that's when she died!" Horatio snapped ferociously.

"When I left she was alive, okay!" Jay said.

"Why did you leave? Did you have an argument, did you hit her? DID YOU KILL HER?!" Horatio began to grow angrier.

"For the last time, I didn't kill her! We had a small argument." Jay sighed and exhaled.

"Did you hit her?" Horatio exhaled violently.

"No." Jay said still sitting back.

"_DID_ you hit her?" Horatio asked forcefully, trying to keep a lid on.

"Yes, I did. I hit her once she then threw me out, I walked out and slammed the door behind me. That's the last time I saw her." Jay said leaning forward and met Horatio's intense eyes.

"You hit her then you killed her, didn't you!" Horatio took a breath and leaned back trying to keep his cool, he knew he was losing it.

"I didn't kill her, I swear! I just hit her." Jay said as he put his hands up in submission.

"Just? You _JUST_ hit her? You know that's battery, don't you? You disgust me; you should be thrown in jail and the key thrown away." Horatio said with venom.

"I didn't kill her." Jay responded.

"We'll see about that, take him away." Horatio said through gritted teeth. Horatio took out his phone and made a phone call.

"I need a rush on the prints and DNA on the gun." He put the phone down. A few hours later Horatio received another call.

"The prints on the gun are a match"

"A match to who?" Horatio asked impatiently.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Calleigh." The person on the end of the phone said disappointedly before Horatio brought his hand up and pinched the bridge of his nose as he scrunched up his eyes as he shook his head.

"Okay, thank you. Have you got anything else for me?" Horatio sighed.

"All we have is evidence showing that it was Calleigh who pulled that trigger. We have nothing on Jay. All we can do him for is battery. We're going to have to close the case."

"Right, well you make sure we get him done for battery, I don't want to let him off lightly. Thank you." Horatio sighed then hung up. Horatio hung his head, still not wanting to believe that Calleigh would have done this. He slid his phone into his pocket and then went to find the rest of the team to update them. He called them all into one of the labs. Alexx, Frank, Eric and Ryan all met in the lab Horatio walked in and all eyes were on him.

"They've now closed Calleigh's case. They found that she was the one who pulled the trigger and it is suicide. However, Jay has been sent down for battery, he admitted to hitting Calleigh last night. I'm very sorry to inform you all. If any of you would like some time off, you're welcome to." Horatio said only briefly making eye contact with each of them, but mainly looking down at the floor.

"Thank you for letting us know Horatio." Alexx said as she walked past him and gently stroked his arm. She walked out quickly and finished writing up a report. Frank, Eric and Ryan each nodded and didn't say a word. Horatio went back to his office to fill out paperwork, the collective mood of the lab was low.

Alexx had to leave the autopsy room and visit the loo, she could feel herself on the verge of tears. She tried to calm herself down in the bathroom and composed herself. She took a deep breath and returned to finishing the report. They were all shocked and upset about it.

A few weeks passed, the team still trying to sort themselves out after the tragedy of Calleigh. Naturally, they were still slightly unsettled, but were a lot better than they were when it initially happened. They attended her funeral ceremony which was beautiful.

XXXXXXXX

Another week passed and Horatio was looking for another team member. He remembered a young woman who he had met while he was briefly up in New York, her name was Zoë Chambers, he recalled that she was a very memorable woman. She way buoyant, intelligent and enough for him to remember clearly. Horatio didn't know her all too well, in fact, he only really knew her name and that she was a dedicated worker, he pulled her work file up and found that she had a Masters in Chemistry and minored in Forensic Science while she studied for her Bachelorette, also having attended very prestigious schools and Universities. He was impressed about her record and made a few phone calls. He found that she had recently moved down to Miami. '_This is all too perfect_.' Horatio thought to himself, he sat thinking. He made another call and then finally gave Zoë herself a call. He offered for her to come in and talk with him. She gratefully accepted.

The next day Zoë walked into the lab and met with Horatio, they greeted each other and Horatio quickly walked her through to his office.

"Please do sit down, Zoë." Horatio said as he gestured to the chair in front of his desk while he walked around and sat behind his desk. He looked back to her and felt encapsulated by the tight ringlets in her long brown hair while her eyes glowed with a bright happiness.

"Thank you Horatio." She smiled naturally as she flicked her fringe from her eyes and crossed her legs. She picked up on Horatio's secret smile almost immediately.

"May I call you Zoë? Or do you prefer Detective Chambers." Horatio questioned softly as he wanted to get off on the right start.

"Please call me Zoë." She smiled and he nodded as he leant forward on his desk and clasped his hands.

"Zoë, it is my understanding that you've recently moved to Miami and do not currently have a job?" He asked softly.

"That's correct, I'm in the middle of searching for a job now." She said softly and he nodded.

"Well, I've had a look at your profile and we have an opening now, I am very impressed with your record." He said softly as he glanced down and studied her. '_She's a very smart woman, both dress wise and intellect.' _Horatio thought to himself.

"Thank you, science is where my passion starts and ends, as well as the law, which makes forensic science perfect coupled with the detective role." Zoë said softly and Horatio nodded.

"I've looked over your work and your references, your previous boss spoke very highly of you and would recommend you for the role I have open. Would you be open to that?" He asked and she nodded.

"Most definitely, the crime lab here is practically famous, I would be honoured to be given the chance to work here under your command." Zoë beamed at him and Horatio nodded as he glanced down to compose himself as he felt quite good. '_I've known her for 5 minutes and she's already made me feel great. It's not often that I feel great.'_ Horatio thought to himself.

"May I ask why you left New York?" He asked softly.

"Personal reasons, but don't worry, they won't get in the way of my work here. My personal life and work life have a very large dividing line. I also absolutely adore Miami, I was always going to move down here at some point in my life, I've just decided to take the plunge earlier than I anticipated." Zoë admitted and Horatio nodded with a smile.

"Miami is a great place." Horatio agreed and she nodded with a wider smile.

They continued their conversation and then Horatio decided that she'd be perfect to work with the team. He offered her a job and she very quickly took the job. She thanked Horatio and they then discussed when she'd start work.

"You'd initially start by observing two of my CSI's, Eric Delko and Ryan Wolfe just to make sure you're familiar with our procedures." Horatio said softly and she nodded with an extremely happy facial expression.

"That would be absolutely fine, I'd rather observe first. I like to gauge how the team interacts with each other and how different your procedures are to the ones up in New York." She said softly.

"When are you able to start work? I'm flexible." Horatio said softly as he gave her a quick smile.

"I can begin any time you want me to." She replied with a big smile on her face.

"How about tomorrow?" Horatio asked cautiously, wondering whether he had just pushed it a little.

"Tomorrow sounds great, what time?" Her smile grew even bigger.

"7am start." Horatio said with a small smile happy that he thought about picking Zoë for the role.

"Great, I look forward to it!" Zoë said beaming. Horatio stood up with Zoë and they walked out of the office. Horatio walked her through the lab and on the way saw Eric and Ryan walking through the lab with their heads in case files discussing the details together.

"Gentlemen" Horatio greeted the two of them, they looked up and their eyes quickly wandered over to Zoë.

"Gentlemen, this is Zoë Chambers, she'll be working with us as from tomorrow." Both of them stared at her, Ryan's mouth opened.

"Zoë, this is Eric and this is Ryan." Horatio gestured towards them.

"Hi guys" Zoë said with a brilliant smile. Eric and Ryan just stared; Zoë was a petite woman who obviously spent some time at the gym; she was very well toned. She had long brown hair which had been curled and deep brown eyes with a brilliant smile. She had developed quite a tan from spending the last two weeks in Miami. '_I wonder what her story is, she's a very beautiful woman with an exceptional record, there must be something that isn't perfect about her.'_ Horatio thought to himself as he continued with his secret smile.

"Gentlemen?" Horatio asked staring at both of them, he knew they were shocked and taken back by her beauty. They snapped out of their daze.

"Sorry, hi Zoë! Nice to meet you!" Eric said and went to shake her hand, she firmly shook his hand back as she gave him a nod. Ryan closed his mouth.

"Sorry, hi there, I'm Ryan, it's very nice to meet you!" Ryan said excitedly, he involuntarily took a step forwards, closer to her and she immediately backed off.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to–" Ryan began but was quickly cut off.

"Don't worry about it, nice to meet you." Zoë said as she held out her hand, standing a distance from Ryan, Ryan shook her hand, feeling embarrassed. They saw the panicked expression across her face quickly dissipate.

"You two should get back to work." He eyed them both, giving them the move along quickly. They turned away. Horatio turned to Zoë.

"I'm sorry about that." He said with a small smile, trying not to smile too much, but he couldn't help but smile. He found their response entertaining, but was a little startled by her panicked response when Ryan stepped closer. '_Personal space issues could be a weakness?'_ Horatio thought to himself.

"Don't worry about it." She said also grinning herself. Horatio walked her to the lift and then left Zoë.

"I'll see you tomorrow, bright and early!" She said smiling at him.

"Certainly." Even Horatio found himself staring at her a little. Once the lift closed Horatio went back to his office, grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

Eric and Ryan had walked into prints lab.

"Damn, she's hot! I bet Horatio is doing this on purpose, he knows we won't concentrate with her around." Ryan said jokingly.

"Tell me about it, I can't believe you stood there with your mouth open like a child." Eric said laughing.

"I didn't have my mouth open!" Ryan said defensively.

"Yes you did!" He laughed again.

Ryan sighed and sniggered realising that he did in fact stare at her with his mouth open.

"Oh no, I did, didn't I?" Ryan said with a cheeky grin.

"Yes, you really did." They laughed about it, Horatio then walked in and found them laughing about something.

"Want to share with the class, gentlemen?" Horatio said looking at them both.

"It's just how Ryan stared at Zoë with an open mouth." Eric said with a massive grin.

"Eric!" Ryan said defensively.

"Yes, I noticed that, Ryan." Horatio eyed Ryan.

"I'm sorry H, she's hot though, I couldn't help myself." Ryan said gingerly.

"I want you both to remain professional, she's a dedicated worker and I expect you both to show her the same amount of respect that you'd show any other person. She may be as you put it 'hot', but that is no reason to stare and disrespect her." Horatio gave them a small smile, letting them know that they got off lightly this time.

"I know H, we're sorry, you just caught us off guard, that's all, it won't happen again." Eric said respectively.

"Okay gentlemen, she starts working with us tomorrow, she'll be shadowing you both for the day, just to get used to our procedures, she's from a crime division in New York, so she just needs to catch up on our procedures. She'll catch on quick, she's a very smart woman, so don't patronise her." Horatio said just to drill it into them that she is a mature woman and deserves respect.

"Sure H, thanks." Ryan said. They nodded at each other and Horatio turned to walk back out of the lab.

The next day, Zoë turned up bright and early along with Eric and Ryan. Horatio was already there, walking about the lab already working. Zoë walked into the lab and met with Eric and Ryan.

"Hi guys, I'll be shadowing you for today, is that okay?" Zoë asked with a smile, they could see her confidence flowing from her.

"Sure!" Ryan said enthusiastically. She smiled as she took another step back from them.

"We're just about to go out, we've been called out to a shooting." Eric said professionally, noticing her reaction to close contact and getting the feeling that she was a little uncomfortable with it. They all turned to walk out of the lab as Horatio walked past.

"Gentlemen… Zoë." he said as he nodded at them as a way of greeting. They greeted him back. They all walked to collect two hummers.

"Do you want to ride with me?" Ryan asked excitedly.

"Sure." Zoë answered. A huge grin appeared across Ryan's face.

"Just that hummer there, I'll be along in a moment." Ryan said pointing at the hummer, he looked back to Eric.

"Easy, you're way too over enthusiastic! Calm down, Ryan, you'll scare her off." Eric said grinning.

"You're just jealous." Ryan said smirked.

"I'll meet you there, drive carefully, don't go showing off, okay? She doesn't look like a woman who enjoys fast driving." Eric said smiling at Ryan knowing what he's like.

"Okay, I know. See you there." Ryan said as he turned and jogged over to the hummer where Zoë had sat in the passenger seat. They drove off to the crime scene, parked and got out.

"If you want to just follow us, Zoë, that'll be great." Eric said professionally. They walked up to find Alexx turning the body over.

"Hi Alexx" Eric said walking up to her a few meters away.

"Hey baby, could you give me a hand please?" Alexx said not even looking back, her full attention on the body.

"Sure, hold on." Eric said as he put his kit down. He helped Alexx.

"It's a through and through." Alexx said.

"So based on the position of the victim, the bullet should be over there." Zoë said looking over in the direction of the bullet. Alexx quickly turned around.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't realise we had company." Alexx got up and turned to Zoë. She held out her hand and Zoë shook hands with her.

"I'm Zoë Chambers, I'm the new CSI, my first day today."

"Lovely to meet you Zoë, I'm Alexx Woods, M.E." They smiled at each other. Ryan walked over in the direction of the bullet, Zoë followed. Alexx turned to Eric.

"She's pretty and has brains! Horatio's picked the right one there." Alexx said with wide smile.

"Yeah, I know, when we first met her, Ryan stared at her with an open mouth." Eric laughed

"Well, that doesn't really surprise me." Alexx said with a slight giggle. The scene was processed and Alexx got the body back to autopsy. Eric and Ryan continued to show her the ropes. At the end of the day Horatio called Zoë into his office.

"Hi Zoë, do sit down" Horatio said gently and gestured towards the seat in front of him. She sat down.

"How was your first day then?" Horatio asked with a slight smile and calm blue eyes.

"It's been great thank you, Horatio. There isn't too much difference in the procedures, the only thing that I noticed was that you don't bag the victims' hands at the crime scene, and your lab has a better layout and very good equipment!" She said with a brilliant smile.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that, and thank you. So, do you think you're ready to start working properly tomorrow? Or would you like to shadow again?" Horatio asked making eye contact with her, studying her chocolate brown eyes.

"I'd quite like to start working properly please." She beamed another smile his way.

"I can arrange that, have you met the whole team yet?" Horatio questioned.

"Yeah, I think so. They're all really lovely." She said.

"That they are. Okay, thank you Zoë, have a great night and I'll see you tomorrow, if you have any problems or questions, don't hesitate to ask."

"Thank you Horatio, I'll see you tomorrow and I'd just like to say, thank you for giving me a chance to work here, it really is an honour." Zoë said kindly as she got up. Horatio nodded at her.

"No problem." Zoë left. Horatio's eyes wandered to her ass. '_Horatio! Pull yourself together, she's your colleague!_' He scolded himself, pulling his eyes away and back down to the file he had in front of him.

Zoë went to her locker to pick up her handbag. Eric and Ryan walked in.

"Hey Zoë, we're going out for a few drinks, do you want to join us?" Eric said with a smile.

"Sure, let me get my things." Zoë said with a big smile, happy that she had been accepted into the lab.

"Hey, you wanna' give Frank a call, Ryan?" Eric said casually.

"Who's Frank?" Zoë asked with a smile as she looked over at Eric.

"Oh, you've not met him have you, he's another colleague of ours, he's a cop, not a CSI, we work with him regularly." Eric said leaning against his locker.

"Sounds good to me" she said smiling. They left and went to the bar, they got to know each other a little more after. Eric and Ryan walked Zoë back to her house. She went in and shut the door.

"Woah, nice house" Eric said as he turned to Ryan.

"Yeah, right on the beach front, she must be loaded." They turned and walked back to their own homes.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

A few weeks passed and Zoë was fitting in very well with the team, she had become good friends with all of them. It was clear to them that in the first couple of weeks, she didn't like close contact or other people touching her, but they began to notice that with the trust she began to build with them, the closer she'd let them stand or make a small amount of bodily contact with her. Horatio had already picked up on her trust issues and kept to the boundaries, but found that he was one of the few she'd let close to her. He was able to place his hand on her shoulder and arms without her getting freaked, while she still seemed slightly startled when ever Ryan or Eric touched her, but she seemed to deal with it a lot better then she previously had. Frank was still on the side-lines, he couldn't get too close to her, no-one else could for that matter. Alexx could sometimes, but other times she couldn't.

Eric and Ryan still glanced over at her when they weren't in the room with anyone else. They couldn't help it. Zoë found that she had a soft spot for Horatio, mainly because he genuinely cared about his team so much and was exceptionally dedicated to his job and helping others. Horatio, Eric and Ryan all had a soft spot for her as she demonstrated the same traits; she genuinely cared and wanted to help where ever she could, often going out of her way. She often turned up early and was usually late to leave because she wanted to do all she could to figure out a case as soon as it was possible. She had quickly settled in to the team and was clearly a very confident woman, despite the trust problems. A few more weeks passed and the team were working very well together. They were still slightly unsettled because it wasn't the same without Calleigh, but they were all recovering from the trauma.

Frank rang Horatio. "Horatio Caine" Horatio answered the phone soon after it had begun to ring.

"Hi H, it's Frank, we have a DB, we need you down here now at Dodge Island."

"We'll be right there Frank." The phone disconnected.

Horatio got up and found Eric and Zoë.

"We've got a case over at Dodge Island, I need you two to come with me."

"Sure thing H." Eric replied as they collected their kit. They all then walked out to the hummer and drove over to Dodge Island, they got out and walked up to the house. Alexx then arrived and went straight into the house and got to work on the body. It was a young woman. Horatio, Eric and Zoë were stood outside getting the details off Frank.

"Eric, I'd like you to go round the back and look around, see if you can find anything and the point of entry." Horatio said as he took his sunglasses off.

"Zoë, you start to process inside." He said with his hands on his hips. Frank stood outside getting information from the neighbours while some police officers taped off the crime scene and stood guard.

Horatio quickly followed Zoë in to the house where they found Alexx leaning over the body in the dining/living room. Zoë and Horatio took a look around while Alexx gave them some details about the body. Zoë's eyes drew her to a cabinet which was at the other end of the room, her gut instinct told her that there was something about the cabinet that wasn't quite right. She slowly walked over to it.

"What have you got Zoë?" Horatio asked from the other end of the room.

"I'm not sure yet, I'll let you know." She said as she reached out to open the cabinet.

She pulled the cabinet doors open.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Zoë had opened the cabinet, as she did, they all heard a click, Zoë and Alexx didn't think anything of it. However, alarm bells went off in Horatio's head when he recognised the sound immediately. Zoë turned around with a gun in her hand that she had just picked up. She opened her mouth to announce to Horatio about the gun but he'd already waved his arms at her frantically, gesturing for her to hit the floor.

**"GET DOWN NOW! BOMB!"** Horatio shouted before he moved to cover Alexx, he certainly didn't have enough to get to Zoë. Zoë turned and dropped to the floor just as an explosion erupted. Horatio shielded Alexx as best he could and felt the heat from the explosion pass over his back. Horatio waited a few moments before he lifted his head to observe the state of the room, but nothing was alight, a fire-ball had erupted and dissipated almost as quickly as it ignited. Horatio and Alexx were far enough away to remain unharmed apart from a brief ringing in their ears. Everyone else heard the explosion and were sure that it was a bomb that had gone off, but apart from one window being blasted out of the living area, everything remained unharmed which lead other's to think that it wasn't a bomb. Horatio stood up while Alexx lay on the floor for a few more seconds, absolutely terrified and in a state of shock.

"GET ME THE BOMB SQUAD NOW!" He yelled loudly as he put his sunglasses away.

"Alexx, are you okay?" Horatio asked when he looked down at her and then crouched to place a gentle hand on her back as she slowly sat up.

"I'm fine honey." Alexx said as her face filled with concern and heard the deafening ringing in her ears, she only knew what Horatio had said because she was lip-reading. Horatio nodded and then looked over to where Zoë had been standing.

"Zoë? Zoë?!" Horatio called loudly when he saw her laying on the floor on her front with her face turned to the right with her hand covering most of her face, she had dropped the gun which laid just to the side of her. She didn't move one bit, he couldn't even see if she was breathing. But he knew from her charred and ripped jacket that the blast had caught her.

"Zoë?!" Horatio called again, fearing the worst he cautiously approached her. "Call for an ambulance now!" Horatio shouted as he reached her and carefully bent down while he studied the area around Zoë.

"Zoë? Can you hear me, Zoë?" Horatio cautiously put his hand out and placed two fingers on her neck to feel for her pulse. He took a deep breath when he felt a rapid pulse and looked up and around the room. "**GET ME AN AMBULANCE NOW! SHE HAS A PULSE! MULTIPLE CONTUSIONS AND SHE'S UNCONSCIOUS."** He shouted, his eyes quickly scanned across her body for any injuries, apart from the rips in her clothing he couldn't see anything. He blinked rapidly when his eyes settled on a large gash on the side of her head and knew she had a few cuts on her back as he could see the blood beginning to seep through the jacket. The injury to her head was bleeding a lot and being soaked up by the thick green carpet.

"Alexx, I need you; she's bleeding pretty badly." Horatio said trying to calm himself down as he could feel his heart beging to race in his chest, releasing adrenaline into his system. Alexx got up and carefully walked over to them, still trembling slightly. She kneeled down and put another pair of gloves on as she quickly looked Zoë over. She placed some gauze on Zoë's head wound as quickly as she could.

"Zoë baby, can you hear me?" Alexx said calmly and clearly as she bent down to get closer. Alexx gently moved Zoë's right arm away from her face and checked her radial pulse while she was at it.

"Honey, can you please swap places please and put pressure on her head wound?" Alexx asked calmly as she glanced up to Horatio and saw the increasing worry in his eyes. They swapped places so Alexx could get a good look at Zoë's face.

"Where the hell is that ambulance?" Horatio yelled while Alexx got out her pocket torch and lifted Zoë's eye lids up to shine the light into her eyes.

"They're responding well, but I want to get her to the hospital now." Alexx said very concerned by Zoë's lack of consciousness. She looked over the rest of Zoë's injuries as she knew for the moment that Zoë was stable.

The bomb squad turned up and walked through to the living room/dining room, causing Horatio to look over to them.

"There was a bomb planted in this cabinet, you need to search the house, I think it's probably a trap." Horatio said hastily while he continued to hold the gauze against Zoë's head, he could feel it becoming soaked in her blood and so looked back and saw his fingers covered in her blood. Alexx handed him some more gauze, he placed it on top of the gauze which was already there. He looked down to Zoë's placid face and felt a pit in his stomach form, the feeling of guilt began to swallow him whole as he blamed himself for not getting to her.

"If that ambulance isn't here within the next 2 minutes, I'm taking her myself." Horatio said in haste as he looked up at Alexx and placed his other hand on Zoë's shoulder lightly.

"Come on sweetheart." Horatio said warmly as he looked down to Zoë but she didn't give him a response.

"Honey, you can't do that, she can't be moved. She's sustained a head injury, who knows what's going on in her head, she could have a neck or back injury for all we know. Stay calm, we'll sort this out." Alexx said looking into Horatio's frustrated blue eyes. Alexx gently lifted the back of Zoë's jacket to find her white shirt was almost all stained blood red. Finally they heard the sirens of the ambulance getting closer. Horatio was getting more and more frustrated by the second.

"Honey, don't worry, she's going to be fine, remain calm. It's going to be okay." Alexx said in a soothing tone, trying to calm him down. Alexx caught Horatio's gaze and her eyes calmed him down a little, but she could see the hurt in his. The ambulance pulled up and two paramedics fumbled in with large bags and items nearly falling out of the many pockets on their trousers.

"Be careful! There could be more bombs lying around, don't touch anything!" Horatio said loudly, frustrated. The paramedics slowed down and took extra care as they both swallowed and looked down to Zoe.

"This is Zoë Chambers, she's 27 years old, she was close to an explosion that detonated when she opened the cabinet, I think she managed to get to the floor before it completely went off, I'm not too sure though. She has a head wound and lacerations to her back, she's stable but unresponsive." Alexx said switching into medical mode.

"Thank you ma'am" one of the paramedics answered as they both crouched down. One of them took over holding the gauze on her head and Horatio stood up looking around for anything else suspicious. He ran his right hand through his hair, not knowing what to do when he looked back to Zoë. He wanted to help, but knew that he had to let the paramedics do their job. The paramedics looked for a response but Zoë didn't respond to anything. Eric walked in through the front door and through to them. He saw Zoë laying on the floor being treated by the two paramedics.

"H, what happened?" Eric said with concern seeing the look on his bosses frustrated and very worried face.

"She opened the cabinet and found a gun, an explosion then went off, I didn't have time to get over to her and get her down. I think she got to the floor before it went off, but she's in a bad way at the moment. Once the bomb squad is done, I need you and Mr Wolfe to go over this place with a fine tooth comb, I need everything. This is priority number one." Horatio turned back around to look at Zoë with his hands on his hips.

"Sure, H." Eric said as he walked back out.

"We need to get her out of here asap, there could be more bombs." Horatio said firmly. One of the paramedics got up and went to get the board, collar and blocks. He returned with them and placed them down next to Zoë. They lined up the board next to Zoë.

"I'll give you a hand." Alexx said as she moved down to kneel at Zoë's legs.

"It's okay, leave it to us." One of the paramedics said under the pressure of the thought of another bomb going off.

"I'm a doctor and I'm going to help." Alexx snapped.

"She doesn't seem to have any shrapnel sticking out of her back, we should get her on to her back." One paramedic said.

"There could be some deeper, but the spinal situation overrides the shrapnel. On my count." The other paramedic said. They gently rolled Zoë and boarded her, they then placed the collar and blocks beside her head after a bandage was wrapped around. They rechecked her eyes, they were still responsive and then loaded her into the ambulance.

"Are you going to come with us?" One paramedic said to Alexx. Alexx looked at Horatio and then to Zoë.

"I can't, I need to get the body back to autopsy, I can be at the hospital in 25 minutes though." She said as she raised her eyebrows, she clearly wanted to go with Zoë, but she couldn't. They all walked out each having got a hold on the board.

"I'll go with her, Eric can take it from here." Horatio said as he climbed into the ambulance.

"I'll meet you there, Horatio." Alexx said looking at Horatio.

"Bye baby, I'll see you soon" Alexx said looking at Zoë. Eric quickly appeared at the doors as the paramedics strapped Zoë to the bed.

"H, keep me in the loop, Wolfe is on his way here." Eric said worried about Zoë. Horatio nodded at him. The paramedic closed the doors and went round to the drivers' seat and turned the engine on. Ryan turned up just as the ambulance was pulling away. Eric updated Frank and Ryan about the situation. Ryan's eyes widened in shock and panic.

"She's going to be okay, isn't she?" Ryan said looking towards Eric intensely, clearly very worried about her.

"Yeah, I hope so." Eric replied, unsure what else to say.

XXXXXXXX

Back in the ambulance Horatio took hold of Zoë's hand while the paramedic unbuttoned her shirt and attached the ECG leads to her chest. He placed the pulse oximeter on her finger and the machine gave the readings. She seemed stable, apart from her oxygen saturation – 92%. The paramedic turned to Horatio who had his eyes on the bed as he felt it was disrespectful to Zoë to look at her when she was indecent in front of him.

"Does she have any known medical conditions?" The paramedic asked as he began to fill out a form.

"No." Horatio said with concern glistening in his eyes, but quickly looked to Zoë when she let out a low moan, a bit of hope rekindled.

"Zoë, can you hear me? You're in an ambulance on your way to hospital, you're going to be okay." The paramedic said as she shone the light in her eyes again. "Zoë, can you open your eyes please?" The paramedic questioned. Her eyes fluttered but didn't open.

"Zoë, it's okay, can you open your eyes please? It's Horatio." Horatio said calmly gripping her hand gently, just to let her know he was there. Zoë opened her eyes when the paramedic shined the light again. Zoë let out a louder moan in response to the bright light and slammed her eyes shut again.

"Zoë, I know it's bright I'm sorry, can you open your eyes again please?" The paramedic calmly said. She opened her eyes and squinted up. "Well done, Zoë. Can you tell me if you hurt anywhere?" She moaned and shook her head while she gave Horatio's hand a quick squeeze. He replied by lightly squeezing her hand back. "Don't move your head, Zoë." The paramedic leaned over and touched both of her arms looking down at her.

"Can you feel me touching you?" The paramedic questioned and she nodded, then remembered that she shouldn't move her head so verbally replied.

"Yeah" She said quietly and dryly.

"Try not to move your head blossom, I know it's difficult." The paramedic said caringly.

"Can you wiggle your toes for me please Zoë?" The paramedic questioned and Zoë moved her feet. "Thank you Zoë, well done." The paramedic sat back, happy that Zoë was stable. Zoë brought her left hand up and tried to remove the oxygen mask but Horatio quickly reached over and pulled her hand from the mask.

"No Zoë, leave it there. It's okay." Horatio said as he gently stroked her hand with his thumb as he held it.

"Horatio?" She mumbled as she tried to look over to him.

"Yes, it's me, I'm here. Don't panic, you're going to be okay." Horatio answered as he leaned over so she could see him. She gently squeezed his hand and her grip slowly loosened as her eyes closed. "No, no, Zoë stay awake." Horatio worriedly said and looked over to the paramedic who was filling in paper work looking at her vitals often. The paramedic looked up and quickly moved over to Zoë.

"Zoë, open your eyes for me please. Zoë? Can you hear me?" The paramedic said. Her oxygen saturation dropped again slightly. "How long until we're at the hospital?" The paramedic called to the other paramedic driving.

"A couple of minutes, we're nearly there." The driver called back. The paramedic took her blood pressure – it was on the lower end of the normal limits, but it was okay. They pulled into the hospital and unloaded Zoë, they rushed her in. Horatio stood by her side the whole time. The doctor met them and as they walked in the paramedics updated the doctor.

"Stand back please sir." The doctor ordered Horatio. As they were walking the doctor checked her eyes and called out to Zoë. She was not responding.

"I want a CT scan on her immediately, I want her head wound cleaned and re-dressed and we'll call the neurosurgeons, just in case, I'll take a look at the wounds on her back after the CT." The doctor barked orders at the nurses and other doctors around. "Get that CT now! Take her straight up there." Horatio followed the trolley that she was laying on with worried eyes. The doctor fell back and turned to Horatio and took a deep breath. He gave Horatio a gentle smile as he could see that Horatio was very worried.

"Hello sir, I'm doctor Nathan Taylor, you may call me Nathan, I'll be head of care for Zoë." Nathan held out his hand to Horatio.

"Lieutenant Horatio Caine, take good care of her doctor." They shook hands.

"Are you family?" Nathan asked.

"No, colleagues and friends. Keep me updated, I need to make a few phone calls." Horatio said shocked.

"She's in good hands Lieutenant. She'll be down from CT in about 20 minutes. I'll come and find you when I find out more." Nathan said seeing the frustrated look on Horatio's face, he was now mostly frustrated because Zoë had been taken away from him when he wanted to be with her every step of the way and to know what was happening.

"Thanks." Horatio said as they both turned away from each other. Horatio rang Eric to see how they got on. Eric notified him that they bomb squad found 3 more bombs hidden in places, designed to catch the team. Horatio thanked him for the information. Alexx then called Horatio.

"Horatio, I'm on my way over now, how is she doing?" Alexx said in a rush, driving over to the hospital.

"She's okay, she came around in the ambulance for a few minutes, she then lost consciousness again. They've taken her to CT now. I'll wait at the entrance for you." Horatio said with his right hand running through his hair.

"Okay baby, she's going to be okay. I'll be there in 5 minutes." Alexx said in a soothing voice detecting the worry and stress in his. They hung up and Horatio quickly went to wash her blood off his hand. He stood at the entrance for Alexx. She walked in and placed her hand on Horatio's right arm with her right hand.

"How is she?" Alexx said looking into his deep blue eyes searching for an answer.

"I don't know, they haven't finished with her yet." He said with a sigh. They went through to the waiting room. 40 minutes passed.

"Where on Earth are they? They said it would only take 20 minutes!" Horatio said stressed.

"Let them take their time Horatio, they're doing their best for her. I'm sure they'll be along soon." Alexx said reassuring him. As sure as she was, Nathan walked in, he set his eyes on Alexx.

"Alexx! How are you? What are you doing here?" Nathan said with a smile on his face.

"I'm here with Zoë, how is she doing, Nathan?" Alexx said as she stood up along with Horatio.

"Zoë's okay, the CT doesn't show any broken bones, we've taken the collar and blocks off and we've stitched her head wound up. We pulled quite a bit of shrapnel from her back, but they're all only superficial and all stitched, she'll heal up soon, most shouldn't leave scars. She has suffered a moderate concussion and will certainly have a headache when she wakes up. She's sedated at the moment. We'll have to keep doing CT scans of her head, and possibly an MRI if anything show's up. She's had a bad injury so we just want to be on the safe side. But at the moment, it all looks good." Nathan said with a smile.

"Thank you baby, that's good news!" Alexx said as she went in to give Nathan a hug. She turned to Horatio.

"I assume you've met Nathan?" Alexx said with a smile.

"Yeah, we met briefly earlier." Nathan responded and Alexx gave them both a warm smile.

"Horatio, Nathan is a friend of mine. Zoë really is in good hands, she's going to be okay baby." Alexx said as she reached out to place a gentle hand on Horatio's arm.

"Doctor, can we please see her?" Horatio asked still frustrated and shocked that this had happened to her in the first place.

"Certainly, follow me, please call me Nathan." He smiled as he turned and showed them through to Zoë's room.

"I'll be outside if you need me." Nathan said as he was handed a chart by a nurse. Horatio nodded at him.

"Thank you baby." Alexx said warmly.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Alexx entered Zoë's room first, closely followed by Horatio. Alexx went straight over to Zoë and gently stroked her forearm. Horatio slowly walked over to her, feeling guilty that it was all somehow his fault. He looked at the floor as he stood by her bed. Alexx could see that he was thinking.

"What's on your mind, Horatio?" She asked knowing that he was blaming himself.

"Nothing Alexx, just thinking about the case." Horatio answered as he looked up and met her gaze and quickly looked elsewhere in the room.

"Now I know that's not true, what's the matter?" Alexx asked tilting her head. She had known him long enough to know what he was thinking and when something was wrong. Horatio sighed.

"Whoever set those bombs intended them for me, not her, she shouldn't be in the hospital, she shouldn't be injured, it's my fault; I should have checked the cabinet myself." He said with sorrow filling his eyes and voice.

"Now baby, you weren't to know that the house was filled with bombs! You would have never known that there was a bomb in that cabinet! Don't you dare blame yourself, it may not have even been intended for you, it could have been there to simply destroy evidence. If they wanted us all dead, they would have used a bigger bomb and more explosives, surely? You're the bomb expert." Alexx said looking at him with a frown as she placed her other hand on her hip. Horatio realised that the bomb wasn't big, the explosion was only big enough to cover half the room, Alexx must have been right. She was talking sense. That bomb could have been much bigger and could have done a lot more damage if the bomber wanted it to.

"Thanks Alexx, I think you're right." Horatio said as he relaxed a little more. He pulled out his phone and rang Eric.

"Eric, I need you to process that house fast, there's evidence there, I know it. Those bombs were primarily designed to damage the evidence and get rid of all of it so we can't get a lead."

"I'm on it H, how is Zoë?" Eric replied when he heard the urgency in his boss's voice.

"She's doing a lot better now, keep me in the loop." They hung up and Horatio was certainly more at ease, yet still feeling guilty that Zoë had to end up in the hospital. He glanced back to Zoë as she lay in the bed, she looked pale and weak. She didn't look well at all and Horatio began to feel a little heartache while he strolled over to the window. He exhaled and looked down at the sunglasses in his hands while he fiddled with them. He pressed his lips together before he looked back out of the window into the bright Miami sunlight to see people walking around without a care in the world down below.

"Zoë honey, Horatio and I are here for you, you're going to be okay." She said gently as she held Zoë's hand and gently stroked her forearm.

"Alexx, what did you do with our vic?" He questioned curiously while he continued to look out of the window intensely.

"Don't worry baby, I got it covered. I got another M.E to take over for me just for today. She's going to need a friendly face when she wakes up." She said with a small reassuring smile appearing across her face. Nathan walked in and took a glance at Horatio standing at the window then back to Alexx and Zoë.

"Just checking up. How are you both?" Nathan asked kindly.

"We're both okay thank you, Nathan. Can you tell me when the sedative will wear off?" Alexx asked curiously.

"We expect it to wear off in about an hour or two. But we can't be sure whether she'll be conscious or not. She'll be going up for another CT scan in about 50 minutes. Are you both staying for a while?"

"Thank you Nathan, well, we'll just have to find out when the sedative wears off. I will probably be here for the rest of the day, I'm not sure about Horatio though." She said as she turned to Horatio for his answer.

"I'm here for now, I may nip over to the lab though, but I know my CSI's have it all under wraps so unless anything unexpected comes along, I'll be here too." Horatio answered still looking out the window.

"Can I bring you both anything? Tea? Coffee?" Nathan asked.

"Coffee would be fantastic thank you baby." Alexx answered, both then turned to Horatio for his answer.

"None for me thank you." Nathan nodded and disappeared out of the door. He returned 5 minutes later with a cup of coffee and handed it to Alexx.

"Oh thank you Nathan, you're a star!" Alexx said with a big smile.

"Not a problem, if you need anything else, just give me a call. You've got my number, haven't you Alexx?" Nathan said with a half-smile.

"I have, thank you Nathan." Alexx said warmly as she nodded and cradled the hot coffee in both of her hands.

"I'll be back soon to check on her." Nathan said and then disappeared through the door.

Zoë took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly. Horatio looked over as the sound of Zoë surprised him. He blinked while a mild frown fleeted across his face before he turned to face Zoë and Alexx. He continued to fiddle with his sunglasses and then looked up at Alexx.

"She can't be waking up already, surely?" Horatio questioned intensely as he began to grow a little concerned.

"Well, it would seem that way." Alexx replied as she looked down at Zoë and placed her coffee on the side to take a hold of Zoë's hand. Zoë let out a quiet moan and took another deep breath.

"Zoë, can you hear me baby? Squeeze my hand if you can." Zoë very gently tightened her hand around Alexx's. Alexx smiled lightly as she knew that Zoë was going to be fine. "You're in the hospital Zoë, don't worry, you're going to be fine." Alexx said with a calm voice, not wanting to upset Zoë. Horatio slowly walked over as she took another deep breath. He looked down at Zoë and could see that she was slightly distressed.

"Wait here a moment, Horatio. I'm just going to get Nathan." Alexx said before she walked over to the door, she opened it just as Nathan walked past.

"What timing, aye! Zoë's starting to wake up, I thought I'd let you know." Alexx smiled.

"Okay, thank you Alexx, I'll be right in, I've got to see another patient first." Nathan answered and quickly rushed off and walked into another room. Alexx closed the door and walked back over and stood at her left side. Horatio stood at her right. He watched Zoë's facial expressions intensely, he wasn't sure whether she was in pain or if she was just distressed but he took hold of her hand to try and reassure her that she was going to be hind. Nathan walked through the door and walked over to Zoë's bed with a gentle expression.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 **

The heart monitor began to beep quicker as Zoë's heart rate increased.

"Excuse me Alexx." Nathan asked as he moved in closer to Zoë to shine the torch into her eyes.

"Zoë, you're in the hospital, you're okay. You've been involved in an incident. I'm Doctor Nathan Taylor." Zoë's heart rate increased more, it was getting up to 130 bpm. Horatio gave her hand a quick squeeze in hope of it calming her but he had no effect. "Zoë, try and remain calm, you're going to be okay. Can you open your eyes for me?" Nathan asked with a calm quiet voice. She didn't open her eyes and her heart rate increased more as her jaw tensed slightly. "Zoë, I really need you to calm down." Nathan said with a gentle voice but Zoë's body tensed up. There was clearly something wrong. Nathan checked her pupils again, they reacted perfectly well so he stepped back and frowned down at Zoë, baffled.

"Zoë, what's wrong?" Alexx asked warmly as she stepped up to the bed and placed her hand on Zoë's arm. Zoë let out a small cry as she turned her head. "Are you in pain?" Alexx asked and Zoë shook her head to say no. Alexx took hold of her hand and delicately ran her thumbs over her knuckles. "It's okay Zoë, I've got you." Alexx said tenderly and then looked to Zoë's hand when she squeezed Alexx's hand, she also squeezed Horatio's and he responded with a squeeze of his own, hoping it would reassure her. Zoë's heart rate seemed to drop a little.

"Well, it must be just me then." Nathan said and let out a small laugh. Horatio looked up at Nathan with a mild frown. '_It might be him…'_ Horatio thought to himself as he looked back down to Zoë.

"Zoë, it's Horatio, can you open your eyes?" Horatio gently asked. Zoë's eyes fluttered and she opened them while Alexx gently stroked her forearm. "Well done, Zoë." Horatio praised her warmly as she looked over to Horatio. He saw the panic in her eyes, she then looked over to Alexx and she saw it too.

"Baby, you're okay, you're safe." Alexx said gently. Zoë's heart rate had slowed, but it was still considerably faster than it should be for someone who's laying down – 90bpm. Zoë pulled her hands from both Horatio's grip and Alexx's grip and took a grip on to the safety bars on her bed and pulled herself up, letting out a moan. Nathan and Horatio instantly leapt forward to stop her. Horatio took a hold of her wrist very gently and placed a hand on her shoulder, Nathan did the same. They gently laid her back as she let out another moan.

"Zoë, you need to stay laying down okay, you're injured." Horatio said looking into her soft brown eyes, trying to figure out what was wrong. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. Zoë started to get agitated and pulled herself up again. Horatio and Nathan quickly stopped her from completely sitting up. Horatio took a hold of her arm and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder again. Nathan did the same while Zoë looked up to Horatio. Horatio clearly saw the panic and worry in her eyes, but he didn't know why. They gently lowered her back so she was lying down again.

"Zoë what's wrong? Can you tell us?" Horatio asked as he stood close to the bed and placed his hand on her stomach while he leant over a little to look down at her. "You're okay Zoë." Horatio said tenderly as he raised his other hand to Zoë's shoulder and lightly ran his thumb over her collarbone. Alexx and Nathan looked at each other, both with worry and alarm bells going off in both of their heads.

"I'll be right back." Nathan excused himself as he made for the door.

"Wait, Nathan." Alexx called as she walked over to him and whispered with him. Alexx then turned to Horatio as Nathan walked out of the room.

"What's going on?" Horatio asked worried and curious as he stood back up. Horatio quickly walked over to Alexx.

"We think that she may have started bleeding in the brain, her agitation is a symptom of it, so Nathan's just gone to rush for another CT immediately." Horatio's eyes widened as he felt worry flood through his body as he glanced back to Zoë just as she once again pulled herself up. They both turned to her and rushed over to her bed. Zoë's face quickly drained of its colour as she began to sway. Horatio and Alexx took a gentle hold of her, they lowered her back down. She completely relaxed and her eyes closed, her heart rate slowed right down to 57bpm.

"What's just happened Alexx?" Horatio asked very confused as he looked up at Alexx.

"She's just passed out, she probably sat up too quickly. Either that or…" Alexx looked at Zoë as she paused with a sigh.

"Or what?" Horatio asked worried as his gaze intensified on Alexx while he placed his hand on Zoë's forearm.

"Or she's bleeding a lot, or her brain could be swelling, I don't know Horatio. I don't know what's going on in her head until she gets that CT." Alexx becoming concerned herself as she frowned at Horatio, but she felt so sorry for Zoë, also for Horatio as she could see that he was worried sick.

Nathan rushed back in with a syringe. "What happened?" He questioned when he saw Zoë passed out in the bed.

"She's passed out, it could be from her sitting up again, or… you know." Alexx answered. Nathan walked over to the bed and introduced another sedative to her IV drip via the syringe.

"This won't send her to sleep, but it'll keep her very calm and stop any pain she's feeling. We can't have her wake up in CT and squirm around, she could hurt herself further. We're taking her for a CT now." Nathan said as two nurses walked in and helped Nathan push the bed out of the room and down to CT.

Horatio walked back over to the window as he pulled his sunglasses out again and began to play with them. Alexx sat in the chair, worried for Zoë as she ran a hand over her face and then looked over to Horatio. She could see just by studying his posture that he was stressed and worried, also by the way he was vigorously fiddling with his sunglasses when he'd usually only be delicately fiddling with them. 30 minutes later, Nathan returned with Zoë in the bed. Horatio and Alexx walked over to Nathan to hear his verdict.

"From what I saw, she's only got a very, very small bleed on the left side of her brain, it shouldn't cause any damage, and shouldn't be causing her this much agitation, then again, any head injury could present agitation as a symptom. I'll know more once I've had a better look at the scans. She should be coming around a little more in a minute." Nathan said honestly before he quickly walked out. Horatio and Alexx quickly walked over to Zoë's bed side and rested their gentle eyes on her pale face. Alexx ran a hand through Zoë's hair and tilted her head, she could feel her own heart ache as she didn't want to be looking down on a colleague lying in a hospital bed, certainly not after the tragedy of Calleigh.

"Have any of her family members been called and notified?" Alexx asked concerned yet warmly as she glanced up at Horatio.

"She has none, there are no alive family members in her records." Horatio said as he looked into Alexx's eyes and watched them sadden. '_I know so little about her, she can talk for the country, but never about herself. I thought she at least had someone.'_ Alexx thought to herself as she looked back down to Zoë.

"Poor thing" Alexx sighed. '_She's too driven and happy to be so alone, there must be someone. I wouldn't be happy if I were alone, or certainly as happy as she is.'_ Alexx thought to herself as she thought back to the times where Zoë had joked around with her and the team, she always usually had a smile plastered on her face. "No brothers or sisters?" Alexx questioned as she looked back up at Horatio.

"No, not anymore" Horatio sighed as his eyes fell to Zoë's drained face.

"Anymore?" Alexx questioned.

"Her brother is deceased; it's even above my clearance level." Horatio said and Alexx sighed. Zoë took a deep breath again, they knew that the sedative had begun to wear off.

"Hey Zoë, are you with us?" Alexx asked gripping her hand. Zoë moaned to give them a sign. "Can you open your eyes, Zoë?" Alexx asked, Zoë nodded and slowly opened her eyes. She then licked her lips to moisten them before the door opened and a nurse walked in.

"Don't mind me, I've just got to write down your stats, by the way, I'm Zara." She said with a smile.

Zoë's heart rate instantly rose.

"Zoë, are you okay? Your heart rate was just okay." Zara questioned confused. Zara walked over to the left hand side of the bed by Alexx and reached out to her wrist. Zoë immediately flinched as she began to hyperventilate.

"Woah, Zoë it's okay, I just want to take your pulse." Zara said calmly yet confused. Zoë's heart rate jumped and the monitor began to send out a warning beep. Zara went to reach for her wrist again and Zoë flinched and jumped to the opposite side of the bed where Horatio stood. He put his hand on her shoulder as her back connected with his stomach. Zara immediately took a step back with an alarmed expression.

"I need to get Nathan." She said and quickly left. Zoë's heart rate was still going berserk even after the nurse left. Alexx leant over and placed her hand on Zoë's face but Zoë pulled away from her and turned her head towards Horatio's chest.

"Zoë, what's wrong honey?" Alexx said concerned. Zoë had a grip on Horatio's jacket through the safety bar. She was clearly distressed, but the both of them were completely confused. Zoë took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to calm herself down. She released her grip on Horatio's jacket and relaxed slightly. She hissed in pain as she laid her back against the bed when she felt her back stinging each time she or Horatio moved. She was still taking deep breaths to try and calm down, her heart rate had slowed down, but was still very fast. Zoë blinked rapidly and looked up at Horatio.

"Zoë, tell us what's wrong." Alexx said with a very concerned facial expression.

"Could I have some water please?" Zoë asked dryly attempting to change the subject as she glanced over to Alexx. Horatio passed her a plastic cup with cold water. Alexx and Horatio helped her to sit up they then looked at each other communicating their concern silently.

"Thank you." She said quietly and Horatio helped her to lay back down after Alexx gently took the cup from her.

"Honey, are you going to talk to us and tell us what the problem is?" Alexx said stroking her forearm as she turned back to Zoë.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Nathan walked in through the door and walked up to the end of Zoë's bed and picked up her chart.

"Nurse Zara called me, what's the problem?" Nathan questioned with a mild frown.

"We don't know Nathan." Alexx said with a concerned expression, with Horatio demonstrating the same expression. Zoë's heart rate was still slightly higher than it should be as she glared at him.

"Hmm" Nathan murmured to himself. Zoë's heart rate was not decreasing anymore, not since Nathan had walked in. Nathan walked over to her left side and her heart rate increased as she looked around to him with fright in her eyes. Alexx turned to Nathan and placed her hand on his chest to prevent him from moving any closer to Zoë.

"Could you possibly give us a few minutes please?" Alexx politely asked.

"Sure thing, come and get me when you're done." Nathan said with a smile, he walked out of the room. Alexx turned to Zoë with a gentle expression.

"Do you want us to leave the room, Zoë? We don't mind if you want some privacy." Alexx said whilst she tilted her head.

"No, no, please stay. Please don't leave me. I just want to get out of here." Zoë said in a panic while she pleaded them both to stay.

"Zoë, we can't help if we don't know what the problem is." Horatio calmly said looking at her. His eyes met her eyes as he sighed lightly, giving her a sympathetic look while he tilted his head.

"I just want to get out of here, I can look after myself, I've got advanced medical training." Zoë said in haste and then looked down as the blanket covering her.

"Well then honey, you know that you can't leave the hospital yet, you've sustained a bad head injury, you've still got to have CT scans, you have a very small bleed on the left side at the moment, that needs close observation." Alexx said with her head tilted. Her heart rate was beginning to slow down. Zoë sighed and took another deep breath to try and remain calm. "Nathan is a very good doctor, he's a good friend of mine and you can trust him, I'd trust him with my life. You've got nothing to worry about if that's the problem." Alexx said and gently stroked her shoulder. Zoë looked back up at her and lightly bit her lip. Alexx could see the uncertainty in her eyes.

"You know him? And you trust him?" Zoë said cautiously, quietly.

"Yes baby. You've got nothing to worry about." Alexx said caringly. Alexx and Horatio had never seen Zoë act like this before, she hadn't ever shown any weakness, even when a suspect put a gun to her head. But they saw sheer panic in her eyes each time she looked up at them. "Can I call Nathan back in, we'll be right here by your side, okay?" Alexx asked and Zoë eventually nodded and looked down. Alexx walked out of the room to get Nathan. Horatio placed a hand on Zoë's shoulder and gave her a caring smile. She smiled mildly back at him as Alexx found Nathan.

"Could you come back please, just go gentle and don't make fast movement, just talk her through what you're going to do, she seems a little untrusting of you right now." Nathan nodded understandingly. They walked back into the room. Nathan approached cautiously and stood next to Alexx with a gentle smile.

"How are you feeling?" Nathan asked. Horatio carefully studied Zoë's reactions to everything Nathan did and said.

"I'm feeling fine, thank you, doctor." Zoë said, clearly unhappy and uncomfortable.

"Please, call me Nathan." He said with a smile as he tilted his head and noticed that she was allowing Horatio to have contact with her. '_It's not a male thing then.'_ Nathan thought to himself.

"When can I get out of here?" Zoë asked quickly as she frowned at him.

"Not quite yet, we've still got to run tests. Hopefully within a few days though, if everything goes well." Zoë seemed to relax a little more as she nodded, but still wasn't happy.

"I'm just going to shine this light in your eyes okay, just try and relax." Nathan slowly pulled the safety bar down and leant over to shine the light. Zoë's heart rate increased by 30 beats in the space of seconds so Nathan quickly took a step back when he noticed her agitation. "I'm just going to take your pulse okay, I'll be gentle." He cautiously placed two fingers on her wrist. He smiled and then let go. Zoë seemed to relax a little more as she blinked rapidly at him, studying every detail about him. "We're going to take you up for another CT in about an hour and a half, okay? Is there anything I can get you?" He said with a wider smile, he was happy to see her starting to relax.

"I'm okay thank you." Zoë said before she hissed with pain when she shifted in the bed.

"Have you got any pain anywhere?" Nathan asked as he crossed his arms.

"No, I'm only a little sore, thanks. But I'd like to sit up."

"Are you sure, I can get you some painkillers?" Nathan casually pointed out towards the door.

"No thank you." She said firmly as she glared up at him.

"Okay, I'm just going to help you sit forwards so I can put the bed up, okay?" Nathan reached forward. Zoë flinched slightly and Nathan backed off again. He looked up to Horatio who nodded at him.

"Nathan will sit the bed up while I help you, yeah?" Horatio asked warmly and she glanced over to him and took a breath and then nodded. Horatio helped her to sit as he placed one hand under one of her arms and the other around her back to place a delicate hand on her other shoulder while Nathan slowly brought the bed up. Horatio gently settled her against it.

"Okay?" Horatio asked. Zoë nodded at him and then gave him a small smile before she looked down to the bed and began to fiddle with her fingers.

"Your wounds are going to need to be re-dressed soon, I'll get one of the nurses to come in in a while okay?" Nathan casually said as he looked at her chart. Zoë's heart rate instantly picked up and was racing along as she looked up at him with wide eyes. "Or you can tell me who you'd rather have do it?" Nathan said alarmed by her involuntary response.

"Alexx?" Zoë questioned as she looked up at Alexx.

"Yes honey?" Alexx asked warmly as she looked down to Zoë and stepped forwards.

"Could you do it please?" Zoë questioned quietly.

"Of course baby." Alexx said with a warm smile as she held on to Zoë's hand.

"I'll bring you in some gauze and tape." Nathan said to Alexx and Alexx nodded at him. Nathan disappeared and then returned with some stuff for Alexx.

"Whenever you feel comfortable. Zoë, are you sure you don't want any painkillers? It's going to hurt." Nathan questioned as he stood at the end of the bed.

"No, I'll be fine, thank you Nathan."

"Okay, if you change your mind, just get Alexx to find me." He said with a smile before he left, Zoë's heart rate returned to normal after a while.

"See baby, he's not too bad, he just makes some bad jokes sometimes." Alexx said smiling. Zoë nodded and smiled mildly at her.

"Right Zoë, are you ready for this?" Alexx asked and Zoë nodded as she furrowed her eyebrows a little. "Okay, can you turn on to your left side then please and face Horatio." She asked warmly as she pulled a pair of gloves on.

"Do you want me to leave for a little while Zoë?" Horatio questioned cautiously as he looked down at her with a gentle expression.

"No, please don't." Zoë made eye contact and Horatio smiled at her warmly as he nodded.

"Okay, I'll stay right here." He held out his hand, she took hold of his hand and gripped it as she furrowed her eye brows at him. "Squeeze my hand if you need to, I know it's going to hurt you whether you admit it or not." He smiled sweetly at her. She flashed him a smile back. Alex pushed the blanket down off her as she turned onto her side. She then pulled the gown over her side to uncover her back, she carefully placed it on her side.

"I'll try and make sure your gown doesn't fall so you don't flash Horatio." Alexx chuckled warmly.

"Alexx!" Zoë said jokingly and giggled herself as she glanced up to Horatio. Zoë moved her right arm to make sure the gown covered her and wouldn't' move. Horatio at this point was blushing rather red.

"What's the matter Horatio? A little hot?" Alexx chuckled naturally again with an easy smile.

"Hmm, just a little!" Horatio joked attempting to hide his embarrassment. Zoë smiled up at Horatio and then gave him a playful wink to which he blushed a little more.

"Okay baby, this is going to hurt a little, I'll try and be as gentle as I can be." Alexx warned as she looked down at Zoë's swollen, bloody and bruised back. '_I don't think I see one bit of undamaged flesh, she must be in agony! It's all red and swollen!'_ Alexx thought to herself.

"Just do it Alexx. I'll be fine." Alexx pulled the gauze and tape off her wounds on her back. Zoë hissed a little and concentrated on Horatio's badge intensely while he tried to soothe her by gently rubbing the back of her hand.

"Okay baby?" Alexx asked,Ttying to make sure she was okay.

"Yeah, fine." Zoë replied as Alexx carefully washed and dressed her wounds. It wasn't too bad, she squeezed on Horatio's hand only slightly. Alexx finished and pulled the gown back over her back and blanket back up over her. She disposed of the dirty, blood soaked bandages. "Zoë, can you lean forwards for me please, I just need to re-dress your head wound, then I'll be done."

"Sure." Zoë replied as she lifted herself forwards, Horatio placed his hand under her arm to steady her.

"This one may sting a little okay." Alexx warned.

"Yeah, just go ahead Alexx, it's nothing I can't handle"

"Okay baby." Alexx took the bandage from her head. Alexx washed it which caused Zoë to take a sharp intake of air.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just carry on Alexx." She re-dressed the wound while Zoë's head began to get lower.

"Nearly there Zoë, hold still." Alexx said as Zoë's head began to drop a little more.

"Zoë?" Horatio questioned when he felt Zoë's muscles relax.

"Okay, let's lay her back." Alexx said as she quickly lowered the bed. Horatio's left hand under Zoë's left arm gripped tighter as Horatio brought his right hand around to her neck to support it as he gently laid her back. Horatio laid her down on the bed as Alexx ran out and got Nathan. Nathan rushed in and Alexx explained what had happened. Nathan quickly looked into her eyes with the torch and took her pulse.

"I think she's just passed out, perhaps from the pain." Nathan said softly, he didn't seem too worried.

"She didn't seem to be in too much pain though Nathan." Alexx questioned.

"Okay, well, I'll slip a little painkiller into her IV anyway, just to be sure, it won't knock her out." Zoë quickly came around and the pain did feel a little better. Nathan made a quick exit after making sure she was okay.

"Try and get some rest Zoë, we're not going anywhere." Alexx said warmly.

"I don't need any more rest Alexx, I've had enough today."

"Zoë, doctors' orders, don't worry, I'll be right here." Alexx said as she sat down on the chair beside her. Zoë slowly closed her eyes and she quickly fell asleep. Horatio quietly walked over to the window when Eric called. He quickly answered his phone and slipped out hoping not to wake Zoë.

"Eric, how's it going?"

"It's going well, we've got our suspect, he's a little short for words I'll say."

"Okay, are you back at the lab yet?"

"No, we're just about to pop by the hospital on our way back, if that's okay?"

"Sure."

"See you in a few then H." They hung up. Horatio walked back in quietly. He sat on the chair on the right of Zoë's bed.

"That's the first time I've seen you sit today!" Alexx sniggered in a whisper and Horatio gave her his secret smile. Outside the nurses were moving a bed down the corridor and accidently clipped Zoë's door. Zoë instantly woke and shot up into a sitting position. Her heart rate jumped and increased by 40 beats at the shock, she quickly calmed back down after she'd looked around the room.

"Woah, slow down there Zoë!" Horatio smiled at her as he stood. Alexx stood as they went to help her lay back down.

"I'd rather sit up, please." She said warmly as she looked up at the both of them.

"Eric and Ryan are just popping by Zoë, hope you don't mind too much. They've also got your handbag." Horatio said as he held Zoë steady while Alexx pulled the head of the bed up so Zoë could sit up. Horatio gently eased her back.

"That shouldn't be a problem." Zoë said with a small smile as she looked up at Horatio. Alexx gave them both a stern look.

"You should be resting, shouldn't you..." Alexx said as she raised an eye brow.

"There's plenty of time to rest." Zoë said with a cheeky grin forming.

XXXXXXXX

Eric and Ryan pulled up in the hummer and found Zoë's room. They knocked on the door.

"Come in." Zoë called and they both entered. They asked how she was and she replied. They stood by the bed before Nathan walked in and looked around the room, a little surprised that there was more people there for Zoë.

"Hi there, I'm Zoë's doctor, you can call me Nathan." He held out his hand to Eric.

"Eric Delko." he said as he shook Nathan's hand firmly and nodded at him. Nathan then held his hand out to Ryan.

"Ryan Wolfe." Ryan said as he shook Nathan's hand. Ryan quickly crossed his arms and expanded his chest, he was obviously feeling threatened by Nathan. Ryan mildly scowled as he studied Nathan. '_Oh, I bet you're enjoying treating Zoë, aren't you Mr. Handsome with your dark brown eyes and fancy styled black hair. Oh look at me, I go to the gym everyday and I like show off. Oh look at me! I'm taller than all of you! I bet that tan isn't even real. It's got to be fake. Ha, yeah… fake. Hmphh.'_ Ryan thought. They all looked at Ryan whilst Nathan had his head buried in Zoë's chart. They all knew Ryan felt jealous, they could see it in his body language. They all grinned at each other finding it quite funny. Zoë didn't really catch on though, she was too busy worrying about what Nathan was going to do next. Eric nudged Ryan to stop him from staring at Nathan while Alexx nudged Zoë.

"Hey, you alright?" She questioned warmly.

"Yeah, fine." Zoë replied as she nodded.

"Right Zoë, we're going to take you down for a CT soon, would you like to be sedated?"

"Definitely not, thanks." Zoë replied firmly and Nathan nodded before he quickly left. Zoë looked to Alexx with a worried expression and Alexx knew what she was going to ask and she nodded with a gentle smile. Nathan appeared again.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked and Zoë nodded and looked towards Alexx.

"Nathan, I'll be joining if that isn't too much of a problem?" Alexx questioned.

"Not at all." Nathan smiled. A porter walked in and Zoë just stared at him. Horatio noticed and stepped forwards to place a gentle hand on her forearm.

"You're going to be fine, I'll still be here when you get back, okay?" Horatio smiled warmly at her as she looked up at him, she then nodded and gave him a small smile, but he could see that she was nervous. Whilst Zoë was down for another scan Eric and Ryan brought Horatio up to date with the case.

"Looks like you two have it all under wraps! I better watch out for my job!" Horatio smiled just as Zoë was wheeled back in. Ryan and Eric said goodbye and left. Zoë quickly fell asleep again.

"Alexx, you should probably get going home, your husband and kids are probably missing you." Horatio whispered, hoping not to wake Zoë.

"Oh don't worry about that honey, I'll give them a ring, they won't mind. I don't think it's a good idea to be leaving her if she's that petrified of the doctors and nurses!" Alexx said back quietly.

"I'll stay with her for the night, I don't mind, I didn't have anything planned anyway." Horatio said warmly as he glanced to Zoë briefly before settling his gentle eyes back on Alexx.

"Only if you're sure, Horatio?"

"Yeah, it looks like she's going to be asleep for most of it anyway, she looks exhausted." Horatio smiled at her.

"Okay, thank you baby. Tell her bye from me, I'll be here tomorrow." Alexx got up and picked up her jacket. She said bye to Horatio and went to find Nathan. Horatio sat back in the rather large chair and began to relax himself. Alexx found Nathan.

"Hi baby, I'm off for the night, I'll be back tomorrow though. Take good care of them. Horatio is going to stay for the night, if Zoë wakes up and finds that there's no one there I'm pretty sure she'll get up and walk out. Just be gentle with her. Both of them can be stubborn, so watch your back." She said with a cheeky smile.

"She'll be in good care, I'll be off home soon, but I'll take her for one last CT before I go so she doesn't have to have another until morning. Don't worry about them." He said with a reassuring smile. Alexx hugged him goodbye and left. Eric and Ryan had brought Horatio a case file so he had his head buried in that for the next hour until Nathan quietly walked back in. Horatio looked up at him.

"I just need to take her for another CT, then I'll leave her alone for the night. Will you do the honours of waking her up please? I'm not sure how she'd react with me standing over her while she sleeps. She doesn't seem to be too comfortable with me around yet." Nathan smiled shyly at Horatio.

"Sure." Horatio put the file down and gently woke Zoë up. She slowly woke up and looked at Horatio in a daze. She blinked at him for a few minutes.

"Zoë, I'm sorry to wake you, but they've got to take you for another CT, it's the last one you'll have until tomorrow morning." Zoë's eyes widened as she frowned at him. "There's no need to worry." Horatio said calmly.

"If you want, Horatio can come with us?" Nathan said softly. Zoë instantly nodded and looked up to Horatio.

"Of course." A smile grew across his face. Horatio picked up his gun from the table behind the chair and put it in his holster.

"I don't think there's going to be any need for that, Lieutenant." Nathan said with a grin.

"Call me Horatio, and I'm not just going to leave it on the side in a room, am I?"

"No, of course not. Sorry, I didn't think." Nathan answered and his smile disappeared. '_I guess I shouldn't try and be a smart-ass around him'_ he chuckled to himself.

"Are you ready then?" Nathan said as Horatio placed a case file down on the bed as Horatio helped push it. Zoë picked it up and started reading.

"Zoë, you're unwell, you shouldn't be reading that. You're not supposed to be working any cases." He said warmly with a light smile. She glanced back to him with a fresh smile which made him smile a little more.

"I know, I'm just having a look, I may be able to enlighten you though, you know… a fresh pair of eyes." Zoë cheekily said.

"Fresh? More like totally exhausted eyes." Horatio replied softly. They arrived at CT. Horatio waited outside while they took the scan. Zoë was soon done and they were on their way back up to Zoë's room. They got to the room and Zoë soon fell asleep with Horatio sat in the chair next to her. Not long after, Horatio himself fell asleep in the chair. He had sat on the case file just in case anyone wanted to nose at it while he slept.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

It was early in the morning, about 4.30am and Zoë had begun to dream. She fidgeted slightly in the bed, but it was clear that she was becoming more distressed.

"NO!" She said rather loudly and clearly which startled Horatio, he quickly woke up and sat forward in his chair wondering what on Earth was going on. They had both slept quite peacefully throughout the night. Horatio rubbed his eyes and looked over to Zoë as she squirmed violently in the bed while Horatio studied her. '_Should I wake her?'_ He thought to himself.

"No, Mike! No! Please don't do this! Mike! MIKE! Come back to me! Stay with me! You're going to be okay! NO! You can't do this to me!" Zoë said half mumbling, half talking in her sleep with her heart rate slightly elevated. She was obviously disturbed, but by what Horatio couldn't understand. Horatio gently took hold of her hand and carefully rubbed the back of her hand the pad of his thumb.

"You're okay Zoë, you're safe." Horatio said warmly and it seemed to calm her down somewhat. Her heart rate dropped back down between the 50's and 60's. Horatio's eye lids grew heavier and he was quickly asleep again leaning back in the chair. He didn't feel too comfortable. At 6.30am Zoë began to stir and fidget again. She let out a loud moan which again woke Horatio up. Zoë's right fist was clenched with the bed sheet scrunched up inside her fist.

"No! Get away from her! No! Don't do this, please! Please! Get away from me! Get away! No, DAD NO! DON'T!" Zoë screamed she woke up and instantly sat up in the bed, breathless. Horatio quite disturbed himself about what he had just witnessed. Horatio stood up and took Zoë's hand. He leant down to meet her gaze with his gentle eyes.

"Hey, it's okay. You're in the hospital Zoë. It's me, Horatio" He said with raised eyebrows, startled by her extreme dream. He looked into her captivating brown eyes and he saw she was hurt and frightened, she looked back into his pools of blue and saw the calmness; she also saw the worry in his eyes.

"It was just a dream, you're okay." Horatio repeated. Zoë took a few deep breaths and calmed herself down as she placed her hand over his forearm and looked up at him. Horatio lightly guided her back to laying down and then sat himself as he looked up at her in the very dim light.

"I'll be right here, just try and get some rest." Horatio sat up in the chair and sorted himself out. He quickly went to the en-suite and Zoë was fast asleep again. Horatio sat back in the chair and ran both of his hands through his hair. He then rested his head in one of his hands as he thought about what had just happened. He looked at her and worried about her. He'd seen that sort of dream before but he didn't want to believe it. A little while later there was a knock at the door and Alexx entered the room with two cups of coffee. She handed him a cup and he gave her a thankful smile.

"Thank you, you're a life-saver." Horatio said warmly with a smile as he sipped the coffee. She could see that he was exhausted.

"No problem, how is she?" Alexx asked as she looked to Zoë with a worried frown.

"She's been okay; she slept most of the night, as did I. She had a few bad dreams this morning and I've only just got her back to sleep." Horatio said with a sigh as he ran a hand over his weary brow.

"We all have bad dreams every now and then." Alexx said trying to reassure Horatio.

"Hmm yeah." Horatio murmured lightly. '_Not like that! That was more than a bad dream… but I'm not sure Zoë would want to share that with anyone.' _He thought to himself.

"Alexx, I need to go home and have a shower and change, is it okay if I leave you with her for a while? I'll have you covered for the day with pay." Horatio asked tiredly.

"Sure honey, go home and get yourself sorted. Thank you Horatio." She said with a soft smile.

"I'll be back in about an hour, just to check up on her, then I'll have to quickly pop over to the lab, just to make sure Eric and Ryan haven't gone mad. Give me a ring if anything changes, I can be here within 3 minutes if needed." He said standing to the side and tilted his head.

"Sure thing baby, take it easy. I'll see you soon." Alexx said with a gentle smile as she looked back over to Zoë's sleeping form. Horatio made for the door as Nathan walked in.

"Horatio" Nathan said and gave him a quick nod.

"Nathan" Horatio said and gave Nathan a nod too before he walked out of the room to return home.

Nathan greeted Alexx and she did the same. Zoë began to stir and slowly woke up with her eyes on Nathan.

"How are you feeling today?" Nathan said with a fresh smile. She swallowed and blinked a few times with her heart rate slightly higher than it was.

"Good." Zoë said sleepily as she tried to sit up, but needed a hand from Alexx who gladly helped her.

"Is there anything I can get you? Painkillers? Coffee? Food?" Nathan asked softly.

"Well, for starters, I'd like to have a shower and then I want my clothes back, this gown is hideous." Zoë said still a little dazed from sleeping. She then blinked a few times and thought about what she'd said. "Oh gosh, I didn't mean to sound rude." Zoë quickly said realising the tone in which she spoke in.

"I'll cut you a deal, you have a couple more CT scans, if they're okay you can then have a shower?" Nathan said with a warm smile.

"What about the gown? I'm not wearing it any longer. It's shocking! You should really get some stylists in or something." Zoë said cheekily, becoming a little more relaxed around Nathan.

"Ha! Well, I do have to agree with you there, but it's not our choice and they're given that lovely design so people won't steal them. Tell you what, would you prefer to wear some of my scrubs?"

"Deal." Zoë said with a widening smile. Nathan nodded and excused himself, happy he could make Zoë a little more comfortable. He turned and walked over to the door.

"Nathan." Zoë called and he turned around looking at her with a sweet, caring expression.

"Thank you." Zoë said with a warm smile.

"No problem Zoë." He said with a big smile and reached for the door.

"Try and rest honey, I'm not going anywhere." Alexx said with a hand resting on Zoë's arm. Zoë smiled and her eyes slowly closed. An hour later Nathan returned.

"She's got to go up for another CT now, I assume you'll be coming along?" Nathan said with a small smile. Alexx nodded at him and smiled herself. "Could you please wake her, still not sure how she'd react if I woke her up." Nathan said warmly as he wrote a few things down in her notes.

"Of course baby." Alexx softly woke Zoë up and informed her of what was going on. They took her down to CT and quickly brought her back up. Horatio pulled back up at the hospital in his work hummer. He saw Nathan on his way up to see Zoë. They both walked up to her room where she was sat up in her bed while Nathan updated Horatio.

"I've got good news for you Zoë, firstly, the bleed seems to have cleared itself up and provided you don't encounter anymore problems, you'll only have one more CT today later on, and if that's clear, you'll probably be allowed home tomorrow. I'll also let you have that shower now, provided you keep the door unlocked and if you need any help, you call for us. Okay?" A massive grin appeared across Zoë's face and she nodded happily. "I'll just go and get you some scrubs." Nathan said warmly with a happy smile himself and Zoë grinned even more before Nathan left.

"What are the scrubs for?" Horatio questioned confused as he looked over to Zoë with a sweet yet slightly concerned expression.

"Have you not noticed how hideous this gown is?" Zoë said with a cheeky grin and Horatio lightly chuckled. Alexx looked over to Horatio and smiled herself; she could feel her heart warming when she heard his chuckle as it was such a rare thing.

"Ahh, I see." Horatio replied with his secret smile. Nathan returned with scrubs and new bandages for Zoë's wounds.

"Could you please re-dress Zoë's wounds please?" Nathan questioned as he handed the things to Alexx. She nodded at him with a tender smile.

"Thank you, Nathan." Zoë quietly said. Nathan gave her a quick wink in appreciation and left. Alexx walked around to the right side of the bed where Horatio stood and pulled the safety bar down.

"Now, you need to go very slowly, if you go too fast, you'll only blackout and probably end up in here for another day." Alexx said with a raised eyebrow, giving her a playful warning.

"I know." Zoë said with a small smile. Zoë slowly swung her body round and let her legs dangle off the bed for a few seconds. She slowly shuffled off whilst Alexx and Horatio helped her by placing a hand under her arms and the other hand on her shoulder. They took a lot of her weight. Zoë took a deep breath as she glanced down to the floor

"Are you okay?" Alexx questioned and Zoë nodded as she looked back up at them. They carefully and gradually let go, just making sure that Zoë was okay standing on her own. She swayed a little but they quickly steadied her.

"I'm okay, just give me a minute." Zoë said with a smile. Horatio took hold of her left wrist with his left hand and placed his right hand under her left arm. Alexx gently took out her IV and threw the end away and left the rest of it for Nathan to dispose of. Alexx let go of her completely and picked up a towel from the cupboard and the scrubs from the bed.

"Erm, Alexx?" Zoë asked as she glanced over to her while Horatio held her.

"Yes honey?" Alexx asked warmly.

"Could you please grab my bra?" Zoë asked quietly.

"Sure baby." Alexx picked up her bra and stuck it under the scrubs. Horatio walked with Zoë to the en-suite.

"I'm not helping you; I'm here just in case." Horatio said he noticed Zoë trying to get free. She relaxed and let him hold on to her. Alexx followed them in to the bathroom and placed the things in the counter. Once Zoë had a hold of the counter Horatio slowly let go of her and walked out. Alexx moved closer to her.

"There's some lovely hospital underwear in there too." Alexx whispered and gave her a grin. Zoë looked up with a grin on her face and sniggered.

"Thanks Alexx." Zoë giggled.

"Call me if you have any problems okay? I'll be right outside, and don't lock the door." She said with a raised eyebrow.

"Thank you Alexx." Zoë said with a smile and Alexx then walked out and closed the door behind her. She glanced at Horatio who had sat back down and smiled. Alexx stood by the door while Horatio got a phone call. It was just Eric calling to see how Zoë was getting on. Zoë finished showering before she towel herself dry and then pulled on the hospital underwear and then the bottom half of the scrubs.

"Zoë, if you could just put your bra on and leave the top off so I can dress the wounds again, I promise I won't look." Alexx called through the door.

"Okay, give me a minute." Zoë said as Horatio hung up.

"Okay Alexx." Zoë called through the door and Alexx opened the door and closed it behind her.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Alexx looked at her back, she wouldn't see an inch of normal coloured flesh, her back was bruised and battered, not to mention the swelling. Alexx re-dressed Zoë's wounds, Zoë pulled the scrubs shirt over her head and down. They came out of the bathroom and Alexx helped Zoë to bed. Zoë sat on the bed while Alexx re-dressed her head wound.

"That's much better, I feel a lot more comfortable now! I don't feel like I'm going to accidently flash anyone now." Zoë said with a cheeky smile as she glanced over to Horatio before she sat back in the bed.

"Glad you feel more comfortable now, Zoë. I have to pop over to the lab now, just to make sure that Eric and Ryan aren't going mad, I'll be back later okay?" Horatio asked warmly.

"Sure Horatio, thank you. I'll see you later." She smiled sweetly at him. Alexx and Horatio said bye to each other and Horatio left. Alexx sat down next to Zoë and smiled at her. Zoë's eyelids grew heavier and she soon fell asleep. Alexx sat back as Nathan walked in quietly and wrote down her vitals.

"Can I get you anything Alexx?

"No thank you Nathan." They smiled at each other kindly. "She's very grateful for the scrubs, thank you again." Alexx smiled before Nathan nodded and then walked out to attend another patient. Alexx sat back and rested herself, she closed her eyes and she fell asleep too. Horatio walked in and found them both sleeping. He placed a coffee on the table for Alexx and accidentally woke her. She thanked Horatio and gave him a gentle smile.

"What time is it?" Alexx asked dazed as she lifted the hot coffee and looked up at Horatio.

"It's 6.30pm." Horatio answered warmly.

"What? It was just 2pm!" She said quietly as she sat up.

"Well, it looks like you both got a good sleep then." Horatio smiled as he sat down at the other side of the bed. Alexx nodded as she rubbed her face with both of her hands and then took a sip of her coffee. "Alexx, I got it, go home. You look like you could use a full night's sleep." Horatio said warmly as he crossed his legs and sat back.

"Well, thank you for that compliment, Horatio." She said with a raised eyebrow and a smile to let Horatio know that he got off lightly on that one. Alexx then stood up and gathered her things.

"Call me if you need anything Horatio. Bye." She said as she walked out still a little sleepy. She found Nathan and said bye to him too. 30 minutes later Zoë woke up and smiled sweetly at Horatio who was reading a case file.

"Hey." She said tiredly as Horatio lifted his head out of the file and looked over to her with a sweet expression.

"Hey." Horatio replied with a greeting smile as he stood and stepped closer to the bed.

"How's it going with the case?" Zoë questioned as she looked up at him with gentle eyes.

"Well, they've almost got the killer and bomber." Horatio said as Zoë looked into his bright eyes, but she could see that he was tired and she could see that something was bothering him.

"What's wrong?" She asked tilting her head as she mildly frowned at him and reached over to place her hand on his forearm.

"Nothing's wrong." He politely responded.

"Horatio, I know you well enough to know when there's something getting to you." She said honestly with a raised eyebrow, wanting him to share with her, but she knew Horatio rarely opened up to anyone.

"The killer/bomber isn't showing any remorse at all, it's just getting to me a little. He hurt you, and that is unacceptable." Horatio honestly replied as he exhaled a heavy breath and looked down to the floor.

"He'll get what he deserves, don't worry Horatio. I'm sure Eric, Ryan and Frank have it all under wraps." Zoë said with a small smile trying to reassure Horatio.

"Yeah" Horatio smiled at her and then placed a hand over the hand she'd placed on his forearm. Nathan walked in and looked at them both with a gentle smile.

"You need another CT, we're going to take you up now. Okay?" Zoë nodded and then looked over to Horatio.

"Of course." Horatio said knowing what she was going to say. They went down to CT and came back up. After Nathan had a look at the scans and then walked back into her room.

"Good news, everything's clear. If you're okay tonight, you'll be going home tomorrow morning, I'll talk you through everything tomorrow though. But right now you need to get some rest." He said happily.

"Thank you Nathan." Zoë said while Horatio nodded at him appreciatively. Nathan quickly made an exit and carried on with his work. Zoë looked over to Horatio and saw that he was in deep thought and something was still bothering him.

"Horatio?" Zoë curiously asked and Horatio looked at her with big blue eyes. She could see that something really was bothering him. "What's wrong? What are you thinking about?" She said lowering her head to get a better look into his eyes.

"I'm okay." He said with a small forced smile.

"No you're not. I know you're not. What's wrong? Is it something to do with the case?" She frowned at him.

"No, nothing to do with the case." He replied quickly as he looked down at the floor and exhaled.

"Well then, what is it?" She looked deeper into his eyes, searching for an answer.

"It's just something that happened this morning. That's all." Horatio sighed as he glanced up at her before looking back down to the floor. She saw the hint of distress in his eyes and posture.

"Well, are you going to share? What happened?" She said concerned as she sat up more and gave him her full attention. Horatio ran a hand through his hair and Zoë clearly knew something was up from that move alone.

"Zoë…" Horatio started but soon trailed off as he briefly closed his eyes. '_I can't, can I? That's prying too much.'_ Horatio thought to himself as he swallowed.

"What?" She asked growing more and more concerned.

"Who's Mike?" Horatio questioned as he looked back up at her and let his eyes connect with hers.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Horatio looked down to the floor, knowing that he had probably crossed the line. Zoë took a deep breath and looked up at him with a mild frown, she could feel a lump in her throat forming.

"How do you… know his name?" Zoë questioned with her voice breaking slightly.

"You called out in your sleep, you seemed to be having a bad dream this morning. You don't have to answer if you don't want to. It just didn't sound like a very pleasant dream and it worried me a little." Horatio trying not to make eye contact with Zoë, he stared at the end of her bed fiddling with his hands.

"Mike… Mike was my…my husband." Zoë stuttered as she looked down and took a deep breath.

"Was your husband?" Horatio looked up at her, glad that she had opened up to him, showing that she trusted him enough to share some of her deepest feelings and secrets with him.

"He was murdered." She whispered as she began to fiddle with her fingers while she looked at them in her lap.

"I'm so sorry to hear that, Zoe." Horatio said with sorrow filling his eyes and voice as he reached over and placed his hand on her forearm.

"The killer was never caught and seemed to go underground." She added quietly as she glanced up at him. He could see her pained eyes before she looked back down to her fiddling fingers.

"I'm sorry Zoë, I shouldn't have asked." Horatio apologised after saw her pain, he understood what she was feeling. He took hold of her hand and pulled them apart, he gently squeezed her hand and tilted his head as she looked up at him.

"You would have found out sooner or later anyway. Don't worry Horatio. Just don't mention it to the rest of the team yet, I'm not ready for them to know that about me yet." She said quietly as she looked into his eyes and saw a little bit of pain in his too, but she didn't question.

"Of course not, I completely understand." He assured her as he gently ran his thumb over the back of her hand.

"Thank you." She said with a small shy smile. Horatio didn't want to push her anymore and decided to let it go, along with the question about her screaming about her Dad. He decided that if she wanted to, she'd share when and if she was ready, but he still feared the worst.

"You should have something to eat, you've not eaten in a couple of days, I've got you a few things." Horatio pulled out some food in a plastic bag.

"Thank you." She smiled sweetly at him.

"It's got to be better than hospital food." Horatio said warmly.

"Certainly!" She quickly replied with a big smile. Nathan came in and said that he'd see them tomorrow, he was about to go home. He gave Horatio his card and said to call if they needed anything. Nathan promptly left and Zoë finished her snack.

"I just need to nip to the loo now, could you please give me a hand getting off the bed, I seem to be a little stiff from laying for a couple of days." She asked with a lightly embarrassed frown. Horatio nodded with a warm smile as he placed his hand on her shoulder. Zoë swung her legs round over the side of the bed. Horatio gently placed his left hand on her wrist and held it and his right hand under her arm to try and take her weight when she got off the bed. She slid down and stood by the bed before she swayed slightly.

"Are you okay?" Horatio softly asked as he took more of her weight.

"Yeah, just give me a minute." Zoë said as she took a deep breath. Zoë's legs gave way and in one swift move Horatio had managed to get his right hand down around the bottom of her back and gripped on to her waist, while his left hand quickly swept under her left arm as he pulled her in to rest against him. She rested her head against his chest as she allowed him to hold her while her body felt depleted of any energy.

"Woah, you want to lie back down?" Horatio said as he made his quick swift move and held all of Zoë's weight.

"No, no, I'm fine thanks. Just give me a moment, I'll be fine." Zoë's strength finally returned and she took more of her weight as she lifted her head from his chest.

"Okay?" Horatio said quietly.

"Yeah, I'm good." She said as she turned her head to look round to Horatio, she looked embarrassed as she pressed her lips together. "Thank you." She said as she glanced down to break the eye contact.

"No problem, now let's get you to that bathroom." Horatio said as he gently released Zoë from his tight grip. He still had his hand on her right hip and under her left arm, but it was only there just in case she fell again. Horatio helped her into the bathroom.

"I'll be just outside, don't lock the door and come out when you're ready."

"Thank you Horatio." she said with a shy smile as Horatio walked out of the bathroom and pulled the door to close it. Zoë went to the loo and then washed her hands. She dried them then opened the door. Horatio stood up straight from leaning against the wall. Horatio gently took her wrist and placed his right hand under her arm, just in case. He walked her back to bed and helped her to get in.

"You should probably rest, you've got a long day tomorrow." He said sweetly. Zoë looked at him, blinking a few times, he could see her hesitance as she swallowed and the fear developing in her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise." Horatio said honestly as he stepped up to the bed to reassure her and she nodded with more confidence and her fear disappearing.

"Thank you, Horatio." She said quietly.

"There's no need to thank me." He smiled warmly as he stepped back and sat down in the chair beside the bed.

"There is, I know I'm not the easiest of people. Thank you so much, you don't know how much that means to me." She said warmly as she looked at him sincerely as she lightly bit her lip.

"You've been through a lot, I don't expect you to be easy." He tenderly as he leant forwards and looked up at her through his lashes with an easy expression as he clasped his hands together. "Now go to sleep, Detective." He said with a slightly boyish expression. Zoë's smile grew into a cheeky expression as she studied his boyish smile, it was a rare sight.

"Okay, okay I'm sleeping, Lieutenant." Zoë said with a brilliant smile as she lightly bit her lip. Horatio picked up the case file he had with him and quickly got absorbed by that. Zoë fell asleep and Horatio quickly fell asleep with the case file in his grip.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

It was roughly 6 in the morning when Zoë began to stir again; she let out a loud moan and woke Horatio. She didn't really form any words this morning; she just moaned and squirmed in her bed. She kicked the blanket off and onto the floor but Horatio got up and picked it up as he yawned. He lightly covered her again and moved up the bed. He took a light hold of her hand and softly stroked her hand with his thumb which seemed to sooth her a little. Once she had calmed down Horatio sat back and placed the case file which was resting on his lap on the bedside table. Horatio rubbed his face with his hands and got up to stretch a few minutes later. He went to the loo quickly and washed his face. He sat back down by Zoë just as Nathan walked in. The sound of the door opening woke Zoë up. She took a quick glance around the room as she quickly sat up. She hadn't even realised where she was for a moment until she clocked eyes on Nathan.

"Just checking your vitals, I'll be back soon to discharge you." Nathan said with a gentle, refreshed smile.

"Can I get you two anything? Tea? Coffee?" He asked while he looked at her chart and wrote a few things down.

"Tea would be great, thank you." Zoë said with a small smile.

"A coffee would be good, thanks Nathan." Horatio looked up at him.

"Got it, I'll be back in 5 with that." Nathan said before he quickly left. Zoë took a breath and sat up more. She blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes before looking over to Horatio.

"How are you feeling today then?" Horatio asked as he tilted his head.

"Good, can't wait to get home though!" Zoë said with a glistening smile. Horatio sat back and crossed his legs at the ankles with a small nod.

"I thought as much." He said with a secret smile. Nathan came back in with two steaming cups.

"Zoë, I'll be discharging you soon, probably around 8, okay? I'll need to come in to speak with you nearer the time though. For the time being, I suggest you get as much rest as you can." Nathan said as he placed her cup on the table beside her.

"Sure thing." Zoë nodded. Nathan walked back out after being thanked. Zoë drank her tea and then had to go to the loo again. Horatio helped her to walk over to the loo and back. She got back into bed and rested. She closed her eyes and before she knew it Nathan walked back in which woke her back up.

"Right you, you're allowed to go home now, but on a few conditions: Alexx is going to go over to yours to check up on you regularly, she's also going to change your bandages. If you have any problems, you call her or you call me and you immediately come back if you experience anything like…" Zoë then politely cut him off.

"I know what to look for, I've got medical training, I'll be okay, thank you Nathan." She quickly said warmly.

"Okay, okay. Just promise me you'll come back if you experience anything odd, though?"

"Sure, sure, I promise." She smiled and began to get off the bed.

"Hold on, we need to get you a wheelchair."

"I don't need a wheelchair, I can walk perfectly well."

"Hospital procedure." Nathan replied with one eyebrow raised and left to get a wheelchair. Horatio phoned Eric.

"Eric, Zoë's just been discharged; can you meet us at her place please?"

"Sure thing H, I'll be there in a few." He said before they hung up. Nathan appeared with the wheelchair and Horatio helped her to get off the bed and sit in it. He picked up all of her belongings, like her phone, gun holster, badge and ID, anything that wasn't thrown away after they cut her clothes off her. He put them in her hand bag. Nathan wheeled Zoë out with Horatio walking by her side.

"Where's my gun Horatio?" She questioned noticing that Horatio only had his.

"Eric and Ryan took it back to the lab, we couldn't leave it in the hospital and I had nowhere to keep it on me."

"Ah, I see, okay." She replied understanding. They got outside and Nathan put the brakes on the wheelchair. Zoë got up and Horatio gently took a hold of her arm.

"Thank you for all you've done, Nathan, we really appreciate it." Horatio said holding out his free hand to shake Nathan's hand. Nathan nodded.

"Not a problem."

"Thank you Nathan, I know I'm not the easiest patient."

"My pleasure… oh and before you go, I forgot… you have to come back to see me in a weeks' time, okay? I've made you an appointment, here's the card. You promise to come and see me?"

"I'll make sure of it, Nathan." Horatio answered before Zoë could argue with him.

Zoë shook his hand in appreciation. Horatio took a hold of Zoë with both his hands as Nathan turned away. Horatio and Zoë were walking away to Horatio's hummer which was parked in the car park close to the entrance. "Horatio, I'm not an old woman." Zoë said cheekily.

"I know you're not, but if you tripped or fell I don't want you to end up back in there for another 3 or 4 days, do I?" He said with slight seriousness, but she could detect a hint of sarcasm too.

"I suppose not." She said with a smile and allowed him to help her back. Horatio beeped the hummer unlocked and helped Zoë round to the passenger seat. Horatio briefly let go of her to open the door and then helped her get up into the hummer and closed the door once she was comfortably in. He quickly walked around to the driver seat and jumped in.

"Ready?" Horatio said as he turned the engine on.

"Yeah." Zoë said warmly as she nodded at him. Horatio clicked his seatbelt into place and then reversed out of the parking space and they drove over to Zoë's.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Horatio pulled up and on to Zoë's drive next to her black BMW X6. Eric got out of his Hummer and walked up Zoë's drive as Horatio got out and walked around to the passenger side. Eric opened the door passenger door and Zoë placed her hand on Horatio's shoulder as she got out and he placed a hand around her back and gripped her waist just until she got her legs firmly planted on the floor. Zoë let go of Horatio's shoulder as he put his other hand under her arm. They took a step back as Eric closed the door and Horatio beeped the hummer locked as he let go of her waist and swapped hands to put his left hand under her arm, just for a little support.

"Eric, there's a spare key in that plant pot there." Zoë pointed to the plant pot.

"Before you put the key in, you need to disable the alarm otherwise it'll go off and the key won't turn. The code is 9015." Eric picked the key up and taped the code in. He put the key in an opened the door. He walked in followed by Horatio and Zoë. Zoë kicked the door closed and the alarm set itself again.

"Where's your bedroom, Zoë?" Eric asked as both he and Horatio glanced around the very well decorated house. It was plain, but it was elegant and tidy. The colours were all neutral and complemented each other well as well as keeping the place light and airy. '_Wow, she must have some money.' _Eric thought to himself as he looked back to Zoë.

"Just up the stairs" Zoë replied as she looked up the stairs.

They got to the bottom of the stairs and started to make their way up. Eric was following closely behind. Zoë quickly ran out of breath and began to slow down; she was exhausted.

"Are you okay, Zoë?" Horatio asked softly, quickly glancing back to Eric to notify Eric of his concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I'm just tired." She said with a half-smile looking down at the next few steps. '_Jesus, how on Earth am I this exhausted when I can usually run for miles with ease? I'll be fine once I get into bed.' _She thought as her head started to spin as they took another step up.

"Zoë, just put your arm around the back of my neck, it'll make it easier for you." Horatio said warmly as he glanced over to her.

"My door is the first on the right." Zoë trying to change the subject as she didn't want Eric or Horatio to see her weakness, she was a strong woman and that's how she wanted to be viewed. Zoë's legs were getting a little shaky and she could feel herself weakening more. Horatio put her right arm around the back of his neck and put his left hand around the bottom of her back and held on to her waist to help support her weight as he could see she was struggling more. Horatio took most of her weight and helped her up the rest of the stairs as best he could.

"Eric, could you get the door please?" Horatio asked while they stood in the hall.

"Sure." Eric said quickly as he rushed past them to open the door he opened the door and walked in to her room light, large bedroom. His face was full of concern as he looked at Horatio, worried for his colleague.

"Okay Zoë, we're just going to go into your room and get you into bed, okay?" She slowly nodded with closed eyes as Horatio led her into her room. Horatio took a quick glance around the room and then started to walk to her bed.

"You okay?" Horatio asked.

"Yeah, I just need some sleep." She said with a small smile. Eric had pulled the duvet back. Horatio helped her to sit down.

"Thank you." She said sleepily.

"Eric, don't forget to put the key back, and don't forget the code. If Alexx is coming over, be sure to tell her please." Zoë said.

"Sure thing Zoë, is there anything else I can do for you?" Eric asked as he stood to the left of Horatio in front of Zoë.

"No thank you sweetie. But if you guys want a drink, just help yourselves in the kitchen. I'd make you a drink, but I don't think I'm really capable of that at this moment in time." She said with a small tired smile.

"Okay, just lie down and sleep. Alexx will be over later to re-dress your back. If you need anything, just give either one of us a call, okay Zoë?" Horatio said whilst tilting his head.

"Okay, thank you." She said with a small smile.

"You promise to call us if you need to?" Horatio asked with a slight smile.

"Yes, I promise." Zoë said with her smile widening slightly.

"Okay, lie down and sleep, we'll see ourselves out. See you later." Horatio said softly.

"Bye guys, thank you again." Zoë said as she went to lie down.

"Bye Zoë." Eric quickly said. Zoë was asleep before they even got out the front door.

Eric and Horatio got into their hummers and drove back to the lab and updated Alexx. It was little after 9 in the morning and they had just got another case in, they all got working hard on it.

XXXXXXXX

At 2 in the afternoon Zoë woke up and looked at her clock. She slowly got out of bed and walked into her en-suite, she went to the loo and walked back into her room. She strolled over to her draws and got out her pyjama shorts and small strappy top. She slowly got changed and threw the scrubs into the washing bin. She quickly got back into bed and fell asleep almost instantly. Alexx got out of work at 6.30pm and drove over to Zoë's. She let herself in and walked up the stairs with her kit in hand. She gently knocked on her bedroom door. Zoë woke up and called her to come in. Alexx walked in and took a quick glance around the room. It was mainly a cream colour, the walls were cream, the curtains were a darker shade of cream and the carpet was cream, but it seemed to work very well together. The only thing that was different was the duvet cover set which was 3 different shades of purple.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Alexx said as she sat on the edge of Zoë's bed as she sat up and smiled tiredly at her while she rubbed one of her eyes.

"I'm feeling a lot better now." Zoë replied as she looked over to her clock.

"It's 6.40?" Zoë asked a little shocked as she looked back to Alexx.

"Yes it is, when did you get to sleep?" Alexx asked curiously.

"At about 9 this morning!" Zoë said amused at how long she had slept.

"Girl, you must have needed it then!" Alexx said with a sweet smile.

"Yeah, I must have!" Zoë agreed.

"Right, let's get these wounds re-dressed then." Alexx said.

"Before you do that, do you mind if I take a shower? You're more than welcome to make yourself a drink, I'd make it for you, but I doubt I'd get back up those stairs." She said with a smile.

"Yeah sure." Alexx said with a smile as she got up and went downstairs and got herself a glass of water. Zoë got out of bed and had a quick shower. She got into her pj's again and walked over to her door where she called to let Alexx know that she was ready. Alexx walked up the stairs and walked into the room. Zoë sat down on the bed and Alexx sat behind her.

"Do you mind if I lift your top up slightly?" Alexx questioned cautiously.

"Yeah, go ahead." Zoë answered calmly and Alexx pulled the old bandages off after pulling Zoë's top up as much as she could.

"Do they still hurt?" Alexx asked.

"Not really, I mean, they sting every now and then, but it's really not that bad." Zoë said honestly.

"Well, they seem to be healing very well, I shouldn't think that I'll have to change your bandages anymore, you've pretty much already almost healed! You should be able to take them off tomorrow." Alexx said surprised that Zoë had already almost healed.

"That's good news!" Zoë said smiling to herself while Alexx carefully re-dressed them.

"Thanks Alexx." Zoë said gratefully.

"Not a problem baby." Alexx said smiling as Zoë turned around.

"Now, have you eaten today?" Alexx asked curiously.

"Horatio brought me some food this morning."

"This morning? You need to eat baby. What would you like? I'll make you something."

"It's okay Alexx, I'm fine."

"No, you're going to eat something, even if it's small."

"I can make myself something, thank you Alexx."

"No, you're going to stay in bed while I make you something, anything. A sandwich? Toast?"

"Okay, a sandwich should be fine, thank you Alexx."

"I'll be right back up." Alexx said as she got up and took her kit downstairs and made a quick sandwich for Zoë. She brought it back up stairs and gave it to Zoë.

"I've got to shoot off now, but I'll be round again tomorrow morning, just to check on those wounds, you shouldn't need them on after tomorrow." Alexx said with a kind smile.

"Okay, thank you Alexx, I really appreciate it." Zoë said with a shy smile.

"No problem baby. Just give me a call if you need anything, okay?"

"Will do Alexx." Zoë said as Alexx got up and left. Zoë ate the sandwich as Alexx let herself out and then put the plate on the side and slid back down into bed and fell asleep.

Alexx popped round to Zoë's at 6.30 in the morning and gently woke her.

"How are you feeling this morning?" Alexx said as she sat down on the edge of the bed and placed a coffee on her bedside table.

"Better again, I think it's all this sleep!" Zoë said with a grin as she pulled herself up.

"Good, do you mind if I have a look at those wounds now?" Alexx asked and Zoë shuffled to the edge of the bed. Alexx gently lifted her top and gently peeled off the bandages.

"They're looking better already! I'd suggest that we take them off as they've healed enough to take them off and will heal quicker if we take them off." Alexx said looking for approval from Zoë.

"Sure, you're the doctor." Alexx took them off and threw them in the bin.

"They may sting a little more now, but it should ease." Alexx said cautiously.

"Yeah, I know, thank you Alexx."

"Now, you should probably get some more rest." Alexx said as she got up, Zoë nodded at her.

"I'll see you later, I'll nip round about 8 tonight, okay? Give me a call if you need anything. There's coffee there as well." Alexx looked over to the coffee.

"Thank you again." They nodded at each other and said bye. Alexx left as Zoë took some sips from her coffee and she then finished it. Zoë got up and went to the loo and got back into bed again. She put her TV on and slowly drifted off to sleep again. She woke at about 5.30pm and sat up in her bed. Her back stung a little, but her head didn't really sting at all, she did however still have a massive headache.

Horatio had just finished some paperwork and decided that he'd check up on Zoë quickly as Alexx wasn't able to get there until 8 so Horatio rang her. Her phone rang but there was no answer. Horatio gave it a minute then tried to call again, but again there was no answer. Horatio was starting to get frustrated and very worried now. He rang her home phone and again, there was no answer.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Horatio was starting to get a little panicked now. He got up and quickly walked out of the lab. He got into his hummer and rang Zoë again. There was no answer, once again. Horatio quickly drove over to Zoë's house and let himself in after he parked up on the side.

"Zoë?" Horatio shouted while he took his gun out of his holster. He cautiously made his way up the stairs and into Zoë's bedroom, the duvet was slung over the bed and it was evident that Zoë had been sleeping there. He could smell the fresh aroma of a strawberry scented soap as he turned back around to look back out of the room. "Zoë?" He called again as he walked over to the door and looked down the hall, but nothing seemed to be disturbed as he looked back into her room, where the strawberry scent was stronger. His eyes drew him to her en-suite. He slowly and cautiously walked over to it, his gun still drawn. His eyes dropped to the floor where Zoë was lying in a moderately sized pool of blood that had collected around her head. He immediately put his gun away and rushed over to her. "Zoë? Sweetheart?" He called as he quickly studied her to see if there was any immediate danger. She was lying mostly on her back, but more on her left than right. He looked up to the sink which was close to her and saw that there was a blood smear on it where Zoë had fallen and hit her head, she had re-opened the old head wound she had. It was evident that she had just got out of the shower before she had the accident. She had managed to put her shorts and bra on, but nothing more. Horatio knelt down on one knee and placed two fingers on her neck to feel for a pulse while he kneeled at her side, away from the blood pool. It was weak, but she had one. He took his jacket off and covered her up as he placed his hands either side of her torso to lean over her.

"Zoë, can you hear me?" Horatio called but got no response from her. He got his phone out and rang for an ambulance. He bent over her to try listen and feel for her breathing as he placed his ear to her chest. She was breathing well so Horatio didn't want to move her for that reason and because he wasn't sure if she had sustained a neck injury. He called out to her again but got no response. He placed his right hand on her side as he looked up and around to see if there were any more signs of what happened. Zoë took a deep breath and exhaled with a quiet moan. She moved her head and started to squirm.

"Zoë can you hear me? I want you to lie still please." Horatio said calmly as he placed one hand on her side. He felt her core muscles tense as she didn't stop moving. "Zoë can you hear me? It's Horatio." He called clearly and she nodded her head. "Don't move Zoë, you've hit your head, lie still please. It's alright, it's Horatio." He moved his hand to her shoulder.

"Mmm." She moaned quietly.

"It's okay sweetheart." Horatio said as he gently stroked her shoulder as he waited for the ambulance arrive. There was a knock at the front door.

"Stay here, don't move Zoë. I'll be right back." Horatio said as he got up and ran downstairs to open the door to the paramedics. Horatio quickly showed them up to the bathroom and told them everything. Horatio stood in the doorway and watched them check Zoë over.

"Do you know how long she's been here for?" One paramedic asked as he turned to Horatio.

"I honestly don't know, I came over to check on her as she wasn't answering her phone and I found her here. I think she had just got out of the shower." Horatio said quickly and worried.

"Okay, we're going to take her to hospital, she's not critical, but she definitely needs to be looked over. Her consciousness is altered so that's something that must be looked at." A paramedic said to Horatio. Horatio just nodded feeling guilty that he hadn't called her sooner. The paramedics stemmed the bleeding and collared her then placed her on the spinal board. They loaded her into the ambulance and Horatio got in with them. He quickly called Eric to let him know that he won't be back at the lab in a little while and informed him what was going on.

"Zoë, can you open your eyes for me please?" The paramedic asked. Zoë opened her eyes.

"I'm just going to put some ECG leads on okay?" The paramedics calmly said. Zoë gave him one quick nod. The paramedic took the jacket off her and handed it to Horatio. Horatio looked away as Zoë was just lying there in her bra. The paramedic placed the leads on and then covered her with a blanket. Horatio held his jacket. The engine started and they started to drive.

"How are you feeling?" Horatio asked.

"Marvellous." Zoë mumbled.

"Zoë, really how are you feeling?" Horatio asked with a small smile knowing that she was going to be okay because her sense of humour was still intact.

"I'm fine… I've just got a little headache, that's all." She mumbled.

"Zoë, we're just going to the hospital okay, it's just precautionary." The paramedic said. The ECG machine showed that Zoë's heart rate had increased. Her body tensed as she swallowed and looked up at the paramedic with a deep frown.

"Zoë, don't worry. I'm here with you; you're going to be okay." Horatio assured her as he took a light hold of her hand as Zoë took a deep breath and calmed herself down as she looked over to Horatio. They arrived at the hospital and unloaded Zoë off the ambulance. Horatio quickly followed. Waiting for Zoë was Doctor Nathan Taylor. He nodded at Horatio and quickly took charge of the situation.

"Zoë, it's Nathan, you're going to be okay. We're just going to do a CT scan to make sure everything is okay. Are you hurting anywhere else?" Nathan asked softly.

"No, I have just got a headache." Zoë said semi-conscious.

"Okay, we're just going to take you into that room there where we'll transfer you to another bed, okay?" Zoë looked over to Horatio.

"Horatio, you're welcome to come with us." Nathan said as he helped wheel the trolley into a room. The paramedics had explained everything to the doctor and left with their trolley. Zoë was then taken down for a CT scan, Horatio went with her. While she was having the scan he sent Alexx a message to inform her of what was going on. Zoë was then taken to another room as Horatio followed.

"I'm just going to have a more detailed look at your scans okay, I'll be right back." Nathan said with a friendly smile. He left the room and Horatio walked over to Zoë's bed. She looked over at him with furrowed eyebrows.

"What happened? Why am I here again?" She said with more consciousness.

"I don't know, I phoned but you didn't answer so I quickly stopped by yours and I found you on your bathroom floor, you must have taken a shower and when you got out you slipped or passed out. I really don't know." Horatio said with his head tilted. He then noticed her expression change to an embarrassed and startled expression.

"You found me after I took a shower? I wasn't naked, was I?" Zoë said with wide eyes.

"No, no you weren't naked. You had got half dressed." Horatio said shyly and a little embarrassed himself.

"Oh thank God." She said as she exhaled deeply. She looked into Horatio's eyes and she could see something was bothering him.

"What's wrong?" Zoë said concerned. Before Horatio could answer Nathan walked back in.

"Good news, nothing's broken, all you've done is re-opened the old head injury and knocked yourself out. Do you want to tell me what happened?" Nathan said whilst holding her chart in his hand.

"I honestly don't remember, I had apparently gotten out the shower and probably slipped." Zoë answered. Nathan looked up at her from her chart.

"You slipped? Are you sure you didn't pass out?" Nathan said questioningly.

"I don't know, I really couldn't tell you. I don't remember." Zoë said getting a little annoyed.

"Well, we're going to have to keep you in for a few hours at least, just to keep an eye on you. But you should be home by this evening. I'll have the board, collar and things taken off you soon." Nathan said trying to break the tension.

"Good, thank you." Zoë said. Nathan nodded and walked out. Zoë looked back to Horatio who thought he had got away with not answering. "Are you going to answer my question?" Zoë said with a cheeky smile. A nurse then walked in while Zoë was just about to interrogate Horatio. Zoë hadn't really noticed though.

"Don't mind me, just come to get those blocks and collar off and to get the board." The nurse said. Zoë's eyes widened and she instantly started to panic. She ripped the straps off the blocks and sat up with the collar still on. The safety bar was up on both sides so she couldn't get off easily. Horatio was stood close to the bed.

"Zoë, Zoë, calm down, she's not going to hurt you." Horatio said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. She backed up to the safety bar as much as she could, she reached back and pulled on Horatio's jacket in his hand. The nurse backed off when she saw Zoë's extreme distress.

"I'm not going to hurt you Zoë." The nurse said warmly. Zoë pulled the collar off and threw it down on the bed. Her breathing became deep and rapid and her heart rate was sky high. She was shaking and trembling all over. The nurse backed right off and looked at the both of them very confused.

"I'm going to go and get Dr Taylor." She said and made a quick exit. Her body was tense and she didn't move. Horatio was absolutely horrified by her reaction. His mind was racing; he was trying to understand what would cause such a reaction. He placed his hand on her shoulder and bent down slightly while he tried to calm her.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17 **

He gently stroked her shoulder with his thumb.

"It's okay Zoë, she's gone. Try and relax. It's okay." He said in a soothing voice. Zoë gently let go of his jacket and he placed it on the bed.

"Zoë, look at me, it's okay." Horatio said with his hand still on her shoulder. Zoë's eyes were firmly planted on the door.

"Zoë, she's gone, look at me." Horatio bent over the safety bar and turned her head with his left hand.

"Look at me sweetheart, you're okay." He said softly. Zoë looked into his calm oceans of blue whilst he looked into her petrified brown eyes. He took her hand and reassured her. Nathan stepped in and asked what had happened. He could see that Zoë was distressed and obviously scared. Nathan stepped closer to the bed and Zoë's hand tightened around Horatio's. Horatio shook his head at Nathan and asked if they could have a minute.

"Sure, give me a shout when you want me." Nathan turned around and walked out. Zoë's eyes were on the door again. Horatio tried his best to calm her down.

"Look at me Zoë, take a deep breath." Zoë did as he said and she loosened her grip on his hand. As Horatio was talking to her she became more relaxed. She sat on the bed still sitting against the bars but her heart rate had almost returned to normal. Horatio could see that she was still a little distressed, but not half as much as she was.

"Can I call Nathan back in?" Horatio gently asked. Zoë exhaled and nodded her head. Horatio went and got Nathan. Horatio went back round to the right of her bed. While Nathan stood at the left.

"What happened there, Zoë?" Nathan asked concerned.

"Are you feeling okay? Are you feeling hot?" Nathan asked worried that she may be developing a fever. He picked up the thermometer and leant over to her but she tensed up.

"Zoë, it's okay, it's me Nathan. I'm not going to hurt you." Horatio took her hand knowing that she needed someone to help her along.

"Zoë, Nathan isn't going to hurt you; he just wants to take your temperature. I'm right here behind you, okay?" Horatio said giving her hand a little squeeze. Zoë looked at Nathan and exhaled. She then nodded at him to give him the go ahead. He slowly leant over and placed the thermometer in her ear.

"Okay nearly there." Nathan said then it beeped. He looked at the thermometer.

"Well, you don't have a temperature." He said confused about what just happened.

"I'm going to keep a close eye on you, okay?" He looked at Zoë who was beginning to relax a lot more. Nathan went to pick up the collar and blocks when Zoë flinched. He took a step back.

"I'm just picking up the collar and blocks, okay?" He said reassuringly. He went into pick them up again with Zoë's eyes fixed on him. He picked up the board too and went to leave.

"I'll be back soon." Nathan said as he left.

"Are you okay?" Horatio asked very concerned. Zoë nodded as she looked at him. Horatio was very concerned as he had seen similar behaviour many times before but he didn't pursue it.

"Are you sure?" He asked with a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Thank you." She said quietly.

"Come on, lay down. It's okay." Horatio said with a smile gently guiding Zoë to lie down. Zoë relaxed and Horatio sat in the chair next to the bed.

"How's your head feeling?" He asked curiously and still shocked from how he had found her.

"It feels okay thank you." She said with a small tired smile. She looked over to him and saw that same look that she saw earlier.

"How are you?" She asked curiously trying to figure out what was wrong.

"I'm good, just a little worried about you." He answered.

"There's something you're not telling me. You better not be feeling guilty again." She said with a small smile. He looked at her with a small grin himself knowing that he had been found out.

"Busted" he said with a cheeky grin.

"Horatio honey, how on Earth is any of this your fault? You're the one who helped me. Please don't feel guilty." Zoë said whilst tilting her head.

"I should have called sooner, then perhaps I would have stopped this from happening or at least found you sooner." He said looking down at the ground.

"How on Earth would you have known anything like this was going to happen? You may be a fantastic CSI, but you can't predict the future. What happened happened, we can't help that. Now stop feeling guilty." Zoë said with a cheeky yet caring grin. Horatio smiled and then nodded.

"I'll be out of here before you know it anyway." She said with a smile.

Alexx pulled up in her car and rushed into the hospital. She found Zoë and walked in.

"What happened?" She said worried and panicked looking at Zoë and Horatio back and forth.

"I had a little accident and slipped in my bathroom." Zoë said shyly. Alexx put her head in her hand.

"Well thank God you're okay. You had me worried, again!" She said with a smile. She looked at Horatio.

"Horatio, you better not be feeling guilty again!" Alexx said with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't worry, I've just had that conversation with him." Zoë said with a small chuckle.

"How come you ladies can read me like a book?" He said putting his hands up then back down to rest them on his legs with a grin and a small chuckle.

"It's a gift." They said simultaneously. They looked at him and flashed him a smile. Alexx sat down on the chair the other side.

"So what's going on then?" Alexx asked waiting to be updated. They told her what was happening and that she should be allowed to go in an hour or so. Nathan came back in and greeted Alexx. He then checked her vitals and checked her over.

"You should be able to go within the hour." Nathan said with a wide smile.

"I'm just going to take the ECG leads off now, okay?" Nathan asked waiting permission. Zoë nodded and Nathan pulled the gown down a little and started to take the leads off. Horatio looked in the opposite direction as Nathan pulled her gown up.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" He said while he looked at Zoë.

"Well, if I'm going to be leaving, I don't really want to be doing it in this gown." She said with a cheeky smile. He nodded and then walked out to collect another pair of his scrubs and then walked back to Zoë's room.

"I'll be running out of scrubs before I know it at this rate." He said with a wide grin.

"Thank you Nathan, you're a star." Zoë said. Alexx mouthed 'Thank you' at him as he walked away and he nodded.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to pop to the loo." Zoë said softly. Alexx stood up and walked around to the right and pulled the safety bar down.

"Do not lock the door; if you have any problems, you give me a shout. Okay?"

"Okay okay." Zoë said with another cheeky grin. Alexx took a few steps back while Horatio stood up. Zoë spun herself around and dangled her legs off the bed.

"Slowly, we don't want you hurting yourself again." Horatio said with a small smile.

Zoë slowly slipped herself off the bed and stood on her feet. She swayed slightly feeling a little light-headed. Horatio quickly grabbed her by both arms to steady her. Once steadied Horatio loosened his grip and only held on to her with one hand on her arm.

"I don't want you to hurt yourself if you fall." Horatio said. They slowly walked over to the en-suite and Alexx gave Zoë the scrubs and she closed the door. Horatio went over to the window and looked out. Zoë went to the loo and got changed. She came back out and Alexx gently helped her to get back to bed. Horatio quickly glanced over just to make sure everything was okay he then continued to study everything going on outside. Nathan walked back in.

"Ah, that's better! You know, you wear those scrubs a lot better than we do!" Nathan said with a cheeky smile. Horatio looked over a little shocked about what Nathan had just said.

"Erm… thanks?" Zoë said not sure how she should respond.

"How are you feeling?" Nathan asked

"A lot better, thank you." Zoë quickly replied.

"Good, I'll be right back." Nathan quickly left.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18 **

Nathan briskly returned.

"Now, if you get any worse, you come right back okay? Or even if you're unsure about something, give me or Alexx a call okay?" Nathan said looking at Zoë.

"Okay." Zoë said with a smile.

"Good." Nathan said with a smile.

"So, can I go now?" Zoë asked impatiently.

"I'll bring the wheelchair in, one moment, but before I forget, you've got that appointment with me next week, remember?"

"I know, I've written it down." Zoë replied. Nathan quickly went and got the wheelchair. Horatio helped Zoë off the bed and sat her in the wheelchair.

"So, when can I go back to work?" Zoë asked curiously bringing a smile to all of their faces.

"You should be well enough to go back in a few days, but you need to be careful with your head as the wound wouldn't have healed completely by then. Although, from what I hear, you're a fast healer!" He said with a smile.

"A few days?" Zoë questioned.

"Why, do you want longer?" Nathan asked not completely understanding.

"No, no! I want less time." Zoë said correcting herself.

"No, you're definitely not ready to go back just yet, give it a few days of rest and you should be well enough. Okay?" Nathan said. '_She's one dedicated CSI!_' He thought to himself. Nathan wheeled Zoë out with Horatio and Alexx following closely. Alexx brought her car around to the front of the hospital while they waited for her. She pulled up and Zoë got up out of the chair. Horatio put his hand on her arm.

"Thank you Nathan" they each said. He nodded and returned back to the hospital with the wheelchair. Horatio helped get Zoë into the front seat and then closed the door. He jumped into the back and they clicked their seat belts into place. Alexx drove them back to Zoë's place and they got out. Again Horatio gently took a hold of Zoë as they walked up her drive. Alexx opened the door and then closed it after they walked in. Horatio helped Zoë up the stairs and in to her bedroom. Horatio sat her on the bed. Alexx took a peak in to the en-suite.

"Oh Zoë, I'll get this cleared up for you right away." Alexx said feeling guilty for not being able to come sooner.

"Don't worry about it Alexx, I'll do it." Zoë said as she pushed herself up off the bed.

"No, you've got to rest. I'll do it." Alexx said ordering Zoë to get back on to the bed. Zoë's head began to spin so she sat back down and blinked a few times to try and make it stop.

"Are you okay?" Horatio said concerned about her.

"Yeah, I just got up too quickly, that's all." Zoë said still blinking.

"You see what I mean? Now lie down and rest. It's okay, I've got it." Alexx said picking up the disinfectant, gloves and tissues. Alexx began cleaning up the blood pool while Zoë laid herself down. Horatio wasn't sure what to do with himself.

"Do you want a hand Alexx?" He called.

"No, I've got this thanks Horatio." Alexx called from the en-suite.

"Is there anything you need, Zoë?" Horatio asked.

"No, I'm good thanks Horatio." Zoë said with a tired smile. Alexx finished up and put everything away.

"There you go Zoë." Alexx said with a smile.

"Thank you so much Alexx." Zoë replied.

"Thank you so much as well Horatio." She said with a smile looking at him. He smiled back at her.

"I've just got to ring Eric, I'll be back in in a few minutes." Horatio said as he walked out of the room and down the stairs. Zoë got up and started to walk over to her draws.

"Hey, lay back down you. I'll get you whatever you want." Alexx quickly darted over to her. Zoë went to lay back down.

"I just want a top. These scrubs are too hot." Zoë said. Alexx opened the top draw and pulled out a top, she handed it to Zoë and then proceeded to walk out of the room.

"I'll be right outside if you need me, okay?" Alexx said as she closed the door. Zoë nodded at her.

Zoë quickly pulled the scrubs off and put the top on. She still had her shorts on so she didn't need to get anymore out. Zoë got up and threw the scrubs in the washing bin. She then laid back down.

"You can come in now." She called out to Alexx. Alexx entered the room and asked if she could do anything else. Zoë said there wasn't.

"Call me if you need anything, okay?" Alexx said smiling.

"Will do." Zoë replied. Horatio came back up.

"I'm off Horatio, I'll see you tomorrow." Alexx said.

"See you tomorrow Alexx, and thank you." He said with a smile. She turned to Zoë.

"I'll be over bright and early tomorrow to check on you, okay?" Zoë nodded. Alexx left and put the key back in the pot.

"You really need to get some rest, if you need anything, you call me. Even if it's a glass of water, okay? I am only just down the road it won't take more than a minute to get here. So you call me, okay?" Horatio said concerned.

"Okay." Zoë said with a smile.

"I'll get you a glass of water now, but if you want anything later, ring me. Okay?"

"I will. Thank you honey." Zoë replied. Horatio disappeared quickly and brought back a glass of water and placed it on the side. He took the plate which was there and said bye. Zoë thanked him again. He shut her door and went downstairs. He put the plate in the dishwasher and then let himself out. He got into his hummer and drove to the lab where he picked up his car and drove home.

Zoë quickly went to sleep and slept the whole night, she woke up and went to the loo, then got back into bed. Alexx turned up and sorted her out some coffee then left for work. Zoë had the coffee and then went back to sleep. Horatio called around at about 4 in the afternoon to make sure she was okay and if she wanted anything. She was fine and didn't want anything so he went back to work. Zoë went back to sleep. Alexx came back around at about 6.30pm and made her some dinner. Alexx had to leave as her son had come down with a little fever and her husband needed her home. So Alexx gave Zoë the dinner and then left. Zoë finished it and then got out of bed to take the plate down stairs. She slowly walked down and put the plate in the dishwasher. She looked in the fridge for some juice and it was almost bare. '_Well the first thing I'm going to do is go shopping when I'm allowed.' _She thought to herself. She walked back into the hall and glanced in the living room. The sofa looked so inviting, so she went over and laid on the sofa. She quickly fell asleep. Horatio popped over again at about 9. He didn't look in the living room and went straight upstairs and opened Zoë's door. She wasn't in the bed. His heart began to race fearing that it was a repeat of the night before. He quickly rushed over to the en-suite. She wasn't in there he rushed down stairs and looked in the living room and saw her fast asleep on the sofa.

'_Oh my gosh.' _He sighed with relief. Horatio walked over to the sofa and called her name but she didn't wake up. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder. She woke up and sat up fast.

"Sorry, I must've fallen asleep." Zoë said dazed.

"What were you doing down here? You're supposed to be resting in bed." Horatio said as he stood in front of Zoë.

"I was, I then put my plate in the dishwasher, I then sat on the sofa and I must have fellen asleep." She said with a half-smile.

"Okay, let's get you back up to bed." He said with a small smile.

Zoë stood up and Horatio took her by the arm as they walked out of the living room and up the stairs. Horatio helped Zoë lie down.

"Do you need anything while I'm here?"

"No thank you, Horatio. I'm good." Horatio nodded at her.

"I'll be off then, give me a call if you need anything." He said as he exited the room.

"Thank you." Zoë said with a small smile. Horatio left and drove off.

Zoë fell asleep and slept right through until 1 in the afternoon the next day. She woke up feeling very refreshed and a lot better than she had been before. She got up and had a shower. She got dressed and decided that she'd go shopping. She got in the car and drove off to the supermarket. She was finished and putting her bags in the boot of the car when she got a call. Horatio had popped round and was sitting on her drive but her car wasn't there.

"Where's your car?" Horatio asked.

"Oh sorry, I popped out to the shop."

"You went to the shop? Zoë, you're supposed to be resting." Horatio said in a stern yet concerned way.

"Yeah I know, I just couldn't lie in bed anymore and I really feel so much better today. I'll be back in about 5 minutes."

"I'll be waiting here then."

"Horatio, you don't have to. I'm sure they need you at work."

"Yeah, well I need to know that you're okay."

"Okay, I'll be there soon, I've just got in the car. See you soon."

"See you soon." Horatio replied. He was beginning to get panicked. '_She shouldn't be driving. She shouldn't be doing anything at all. She could crash! She could… I don't know… pass out at the wheel or fall asleep. She knows it's dangerous.'_ He thought. While Zoë thought '_Oh dear… I'm in trouble…'_ She pulled up into her drive and Horatio got out of his hummer and walked over to Zoë's car. She got out.

"What did you think you were doing?" Horatio said panicked from all of the disasters he was thinking about.

"I had no food in the house. I had to go shopping. I felt fine, I feel fine. I'm really okay Horatio." Zoë said as she closed her car door and walked around to the boot.

"You could have ended up back in that hospital."

"Anyone could end up in the hospital when they go out." Zoë opened the boot.

"You know what I mean, Zoë." Horatio replied then Zoë looked at him.

"There's no need to worry, I'm fine." She picked up a few bags.

"Well at least give me a few to carry then, I can't have you carrying all of them." Zoë handed him a few bags and she closed the boot. She flashed him a smile. They got into the house and Horatio closed the door after him. They walked through to the kitchen and placed the bags on the island counter.

"Do you want a drink, Horatio?" Zoë casually asked.

"No thank you, but you need to go to bed." Horatio said quickly.

"Horatio, you don't need to worry, I'm fine. Really." Zoë said as she started to unpack the bags and put the food away. Horatio pinched the bridge of his nose. Zoë put something away behind him and then placed a hand on his arm.

"Really, I'm fine. You don't need to worry, so stop worrying." Horatio looked at her and could see that she seemed to be better; she had got her old 'bounce' back again. She quickly put the rest of the food away and put the bags in the cupboard.

"Can I get you anything Horatio? A drink? Something to eat?" Zoë asked as she sat at the island counter.

"No, I'm good thanks. All I want is for you to go back to bed." Horatio said as he looked at her.

"If it will make you that happy then fine." Zoë got up with a smile trying to act pissed off.

"It will, thank you. I'm only trying to look out for you." Horatio said as he watched her walk out of the kitchen.

"Let me get dressed then you can come and make sure I'm in bed." She said walking out of the door. She walked up the stairs and got dressed. She threw her clothes in the washing bin and then heard Horatio walking up the stairs. She got into bed and sat there. Horatio knocked on the door.

"Come in." She said, he opened the door.

"See, I'm in bed. Are you happy now?" She said with a cheeky smile.

"I am indeed. I'll leave you to it. Ring if you need anything and you better not get out of that bed for anything."

"I will, thank you Horatio. Oh and by the way, I'm coming back to work tomorrow." Zoë said waiting for his response.

"You what?" Horatio said slightly shocked.

"I'm coming back to work tomorrow." She said grinning.

"I don't think so." Horatio said scuffing her words.

"I can't just do nothing all day when I feel better."

"I'll make you a deal. If you're well all day tomorrow, you can come back to work the next day?"

"Fine." She said with a grin, happy to know that she'll be going back to work.

"I'll see you tomorrow okay." Horatio said with a grin, happy that he had won.

"I'll see you tomorrow." She said with a defeated smile, but still very happy. Horatio closed the door after him and left. Zoë quickly went to sleep. She was woken up by Alexx who had just popped over to check on her head wound.

"It's healing really well. You should be able to take the bandage off in a day or two." Alexx said with a smile.

"Fantastic, I'm back at work tomorrow, so that'll be good!" Zoë said happy.

"You're back at work tomorrow? Are you sure? You should take some more time off." Alexx said concerned.

"Alexx, I feel great, I feel refreshed and better. I can't lie around here all day anymore. It'll do me some good." Zoë said with a big smile.

"Hmm… we'll see about that." Alexx said worried but happy that Zoë was happy.

Alexx left and Zoë went down stairs to get a coffee. She went through to the living room and sat down. She read a book while the sun came up. She went back up stairs and opened the balcony doors and sat outside for a while. She fell asleep in the glorious sunshine and was woken by Horatio who stepped out on to the balcony.

"Enjoying the sun?" He said smiling, he was happy knowing that she was actually resting.

"Yeah I am, it's a wonderful day! Take a seat." She said smiling at Horatio in the sun. Zoë looked down and saw that she was still in her pyjamas.

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry Horatio; I'll go and get changed." She didn't want to make him uncomfortable as her pyjamas consisted of some small shorts and a small strappy top.

"You don't have to change on my account, I'll be off soon anyway, I need to get back to the lab." Horatio's eyes wandered. He quickly snapped himself out of it. But her tanned silky skin enticed him.

"I need to get off now, I just popped over to make sure you were okay." He said trying to turn his gaze to the sea.

"Is there anything you need?" He asked.

"No, I'm good thanks. I'll see you tomorrow at work?"

"Yeah okay, bright and early, like usual." Horatio replied with a smile. Zoë stood up.

"I'll show you out." She said kindly.

"Don't worry, you sit back down and rest. I know my way out." He said with a smile and his head tilted.

"See you tomorrow" Zoë said.

"See you tomorrow then." Horatio replied, his eyes going on one last quick wander. Zoë hadn't noticed she was enjoying the sun too much. Horatio left and Zoë sat in the sun some more. She then moved into the shade and read a book. Time flew past and it was dinner time before she knew it. She made herself some pasta and went to sit back out on the balcony. When she finished she put her plate in the dishwasher and tidied up. She went back out to the balcony and watched the sun go down and started to doze off. She was woken by Alexx walking out on to the balcony.

"Hello, how are you feeling?"

"Really good thanks, I've spent most of the day out here, it's been so relaxing."

"I'm glad to hear that!" Alexx said with a big smile. Zoë smiled back

"I need to check your head wound, is that okay?" Alexx asked.

"Sure, go ahead and sit down if you want to." Zoë said with a smile. Alexx put her gloves on and pulled the bandage back. She inspected it and it was healing very well. She re-dressed it and she then left. Zoë went to have a shower and got into bed, she put the TV on and watched for a while and then set her alarm for the morning. She slowly drifted off to sleep. Her alarm went off at 5am. She got up and had her coffee. She then put her running gear on and went for her early morning run along the beach. The sun wasn't up yet, but the horizon was light. She returned home at 5.45 and got into the shower. She got out got dressed and sat down for a cup of Tea. She then put her badge, ID and gun holster on and placed her gun in the holster. She headed off for work at 6.25am and got to work around 6.40. Most of the team were not there yet, except for Horatio, who was always early. Zoë got herself up to date with all of the cases she had missed while being away. The rest of the team started to turn up and they all welcomed Zoë back and wished her well.

Another case came in, Ryan and Zoë were put on it while Eric was still looking at evidence from a previous case.

The End

**If you could review the story and how you feel it went, I'd be most grateful, I feel that I need to improve on the ending; endings are really not my strong point. **

**Thank you all for taking the time to read! **


End file.
